Picture This
by DisneyKd4
Summary: Its the story of Aria and Jason and what might have been had Aria had more self confidence regarding Ezra. Starts at Ian's funeral, and slowly we get more insight into Jaria's early interactions and then new ones start to pop up. There will be little focus on the A plot line except to remind readers what episode I'm referring to.
1. Chapter 1

"Whose ringing it this time?" Hannah sarcastically remarks as we walk into the church, a church that seems to only be welcome to us when we are putting a body in the ground. We walk up to the front of the church to look for a seat as Spencer walks towards us. She looks like she is in a daze, her whole family does.

"Hey," we all say. We exchange pleasantries, trying to make her smile a little, but when she looks at her sister any chance of getting her to feel better are lost.

"What are the cops doing here?" Emily asks, we all turn to watch Rosewood's finest walk in the doors and spread out. No matter what oath they took, none of them make the four of us feel safe, and none of them trust our word.

"Um, my parents wanted them here in case any uninvited guests showed up." Spencer answers, though unwillingly. Hannah makes another sarcastic remark, that doesn't help the tension building around us, so Spencer goes and sits with her family, Emily follows her over, and Hannah and I look around for a seat for her, Emily, and I.

I turn around as Hannah takes a seat in the front row, about to say something to my parents when I see Ezra walk in the door. We had agreed earlier today at Hollis that we would begin taking steps towards telling people about our relationship, something I have been needing to do for a long time but he has put off. Now with his Ex- Fiancé in town, I need reassurance that he is in this for the long run. I need to know that he is willing to go through anything people put in front of us when we come out, because if he wants me to wait until I'm graduated, I don't think I can.

He sees me watching him, and smiles that adoring smile that I love. He begins walking up towards me, making my heart race at the thought of us being able to sit next to each other in public, of being able to be comforted by my boyfriend on a day like today.

"Ezra," My mom steps in front of him, my dad standing next to her. My smile immediately drops and his turns fake, straining to cover his surprise. "I didn't know you were coming to this."

"Uh, I didn't plan on it," he leans forward and shakes my father's hand. "but after speaking with Aria," He glances at me and I smile, being reassuring and preparing to come up and talk along with him, our plan being to act as friends first and then tell people we became a couple after he left my school. He turns away from me. "and um," My smile drops, and I have to support myself on the church bench as I hear his lies fall from his mouth. "show my support for all the students for coming. Not only for Spencer, but for all the students effected by the tragedies of this past year." My parents nod along to what he is saying, buying every one of his lies to cover up our relationship, to cover up me.

"Well, I'm sure the kids really appreciate it, come sit with us." My dad makes room for my boyfriend, who glances at me, before looking down in shame as I turn around. That was as much effort as he was willing to give, one stutter before the storm of lies.

The ceremony was simple, there isn't much a preacher can say about a murderer, and before long we were at the graveyard, and Alison's killer was being put six feet under. Melissa and Mrs. Hastings couldn't throw the dirt on his casket, Melissa was still in shock and hadn't spoken, and Mrs. Hastings was too busy hating Ian for everything he had done and supporting her oldest daughter, leaving her younger daughter and us to throw dirt on the casket of our best friend's murderer. How nice.

Spencer is the first to throw, then Hannah, Emily, and I. No one says anything and we immediately start wiping of the remains of the dirt, trying to rid ourself of Ian and gain closure. While I'm clapping the dirt off my hands, I look over the heads of people in this small crowd and spot a familiar blonde head sitting alone and not wearing black.

Jason Dilaurentis, my brother's catcher and my best friend's brother, was sitting a few feet away from the ceremony, out of notice but still listening to the music and creak of metal as his old best friend and sister's killer gets buried. As the ceremony ends and everyone disperses, I can't keep my eyes away from him, wondering what he is doing over there, and what he is thinking. Emily walks up to me as I'm watching him and asks me about Ezra, before, my heart would race when they asked me about him, excited to talk about my boyfriend with someone who understood. Now I don't even understand.

"Just waiting for my parents," I answer, looking at her for a moment before going back to Jason.

"Whose he waiting for?"

"I don't know, maybe he came here for the same reason we did," I speak my thoughts, still trying to rationalize his presence.

"To spit on Ian's grave?" She jokes, making me wonder if she will when everyone leaves

I chuckle, "To get closure,"

"Well, I still think he's creepy, even if he wasn't hiding Ian in his house. The guy is a freak and he always has been." Emily voices the whole town's thoughts on Jason, but I still can't help but want to go over there and make sure he is okay. "I'm gonna go," she says when I don't agree. "Tell your parents I say goodbye."

When she leaves, I look around, and start walking towards Jason. "Aria, can I talk to you?" Ezra calls, reaching out for my arm.

"Yeah, can I round up the rest of the student body so you can address us as a group?" I ask bitterly, holding in a glare as I wait for the excuses to start.

"Look I really did come here to see you, to take the next step, but it just wasn't the right time." He explains, I narrow my eyes at him.

"Well do you know when the right time will be? Next year? When I graduate? When I'm in college? Do you think waiting until then will make it easier to tell people we have been lying to them all this time? Do you think it will make waiting any easier on me? We keep talking about slowly moving forward and dipping our toes in the pool-"

"Aria telling your parents is not toe dipping, it's a cannon ball." He talks to me like I'm a child not understanding his reasoning for hiding me.

I have to give in with what he is saying though, because it makes sense, he could go to jail with what we are doing, so I make a joke about it, which he laughs at.

"I know this isn't anyone's fault, but that doesn't change the fact that I really needed a hug from you today. Not back at your apartment, or later at Hollis, but here, right now." I confess, feeling my eyes water and my chest tighten, the weight of the last few weeks hitting me. Yet he looks away from me and towards the rest of the people, my family, my friends, his colleagues. He looks towards them to avoid my eyes as I dry them.

"I'll call you later." He says, walking away from me, not trying to make any effort. Never making that effort for me.

I turn away from his retreating body and look to Jason, still staring at the gravestones. I make my way towards him, walking away from my family and Ezra. "Hey," Jason looks up at me, squinting in the sunlight, when he sees who approached him, he looks relieved.

"Hey."

"Thanks again for helping my brother out," I say, trying to make conversation on the one thing we have talked to each other about. He nods but says nothing. "Why are you so willing to give my brother a free pass?"

"I don't know," He sits up straighter and moves over when he realizes I'm not just here to give condolences he doesn't want. "Maybe it's because Ali use to threaten to turn me in all the time." I sit down in the space next to him and tilt my head down a little as he looks at the ground.

"Did she ever?" He turns his head to the side too, looking me in the eye.

"Ali was too smart for that, even as a kid. She was fearless when she needed to be. I was always jealous of that, of her. I guess that's why my parents can't even look at me anymore. They know they lost the wrong kid." His words hit me in the stomach, and I grab his hand out of sister instinct and look him in the eye.

"Don't say that." I tell him, not wanting anyone to feel like their parents hated them. He looks down and sniffs. I release his hand, but continue to look at him as he avoids my gaze. "Look, um. Maybe you coming here to day was a mistake?" I ask, trying to give him some help.

"No, just the opposite actually." He finally looks at me and gives me the look Emily and the rest of the town were scared of, the look of someone who is lost but no one will help him get found. "You don't know how good it feels to know it wasn't me." His words, shock me, and he can tell. "I don't remember a thing from the night Ali died. I blacked out and woke up the next morning with a wicked hangover and-" He stops and looks at me, hesitating to tell me more. I look back at him, trying to decipher his thoughts while he does the same to me, looking for judgement in my eyes that he won't find. "And this." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a slip of paper, handing it to me without anymore hesitation. I open it up and read " _I know what you did_ ," My immediate reaction to look for A's signature.

"Who gave you this?" I urgently ask, preparing for the answer I already know. "What does this mean?" I ask when he doesn't answer.

"I don't know, but it almost destroyed me," He admits and I realize why he lefts Rosewood right away, why he is so closed off and why he demanded Spencer to tell him Ian confessed.

"You thought you killed her?" I ask, sympathy lacing my tone as I realize the type of stress and pain he must have been going through since his sister went missing.

"Like I said, I don't remember anything from that night, I was jealous, and when I got loaded I got angry. But Ian's confession has changed everything. He did it, not me." He looks up at me, wanting me to understand him, for someone to understand him.

"I would have never believed you did it, no matter what influence you were under. We all knew you loved Ali no matter what you to did to each other."

He nods, grateful for my words. He stands up and looks around, most of the guests were gone by now, including my parents, friends, and boyfriend. "Do you need a ride?"

"No I can walk, thank you."

"Are you sure?" He asks, offering me a hand like a gentleman, his dark green eyes staring into my brown. I smile and nod.

"Thank you," I say as we head towards his car.

"I wouldn't want to walk alone in a graveyard, even if it is the middle of the day."

"Rosewood's ghosts are creepy." I comment. "I hope Ian's stays in the ground." He nods but says nothing, opening the passenger door for me. I stop before sitting down, turning towards him. "I know Ian was a lot of things to a lot of people, but he was once your close friend and I'm sorry that side of him died along with the bad side." Jason gives a gracious smile.

"Thank you, I'm glad you and the rest of the power puffs came, despite how hard it is for you four also." He places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

"We're getting through it, we help each other along with our families."

"A good support system has always been something I've lacked," Jason admits, rubbing his neck and looking away from me. Without giving myself a chance to back down, I get rid of the space between us and wrap my arms around his torso. I can feel him stiffen immediately, and doesn't relax until I've released him.

"I know how that can feel, and I'm not too many blocks away if you need something besides dropping my brother off." He nods, a small smile playing on his lips as he realizes I gave him a hug to comfort him. I duck into the car and close the door to hide my red face. I take the few seconds as he walks around the car to rid the blush on my cheeks and reorganize my thoughts, I didn't regret hugging him, someone was going to get one today, but it shocked both of us.

The ride home was quiet but not awkward, we were only left to our thoughts as he drove me home. I didn't know what he was thinking, but my thoughts were on the look Ezra gave me before lying to my parents, the look of shame but acceptance. It was like he knew we would never be able to tell people about us, or that he would never.

Jason pulled into my driveway, pulling me away from the bad train of thoughts I was about to head down. "Thank you again for the ride home." I say as I open the door.

"No problem, I'll see you around," I smile and nod, stepping back and closing the door, watching him reverse out and head down to his house. I was about to head inside, when my phone goes off and I get a text from Emily telling me to head back to where I just came form, for A.


	2. Chapter 2

"So uh, did you invite Ezra to the show?" Hannah asks, trying to step away from the constant talk about Ian and Ali. I relay my excuse I had worked on during the ride over to Emily's house.

"No he's out of town presenting a paper at a conference," I lie, not wanting to tell them he didn't want to come because it's too public for our relationship. "Did you invite Caleb?" I ask to deflect any follow up questions.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you kissed him," Spencer answers, we go into a short conversation about Caleb and Hannah, kissing, and lip gloss. Normal teenage conversations that calm us down. When my phone goes off, they all look at me, waiting to be reassured it's not A.

"Can I get it? It's just a text," I remind them, calming them down and letting us all go back to our short moment of peace.

"If it's from Ezra then yes," Spencer replies, her conversation with Emily about Toby and romance is droned out as I read the text.

"Can we meet? Now?" From Jason. "I'm gonna go deal with this," I tell them, getting up and grabbing my jacket. They don't say anything and go back to boy talk.

"Tell Ezra we say hi," Spencer jokes. I smile back but turn to walk down the stairs, wondering what they would say if I told them I was going to see our dead best friend's brother, who was becoming a close friend of mine.

I head outside and see Jason pulling up in front of my house, I jog over and look him over, trying to predict what he needs to talk about so urgently. Since our talk after Ian's funeral, we hadn't spoken in person but I had sent him two messages asking him if he was okay, both of which he replied yes to, leaving no room for a conversation so I stopped trying to be his support system. Now he texts me.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" He asks, and I recognize the guilty tone all boys have, so I get in, checking to see if the girls were watching, he follows my line of sight then looks down at his hands until I'm settled in his car.

"Look I said somethings after the funeral that I probably should have kept to myself," He tells me, not meeting my gaze. I think back to the night after the funeral, when we found out Ian might not have killed Alison, when I saw that film, I thought back to what Jason told me. Not because I think it was him, but because I didn't want him to find out so the burden he has been carrying the past two years would stay lifted.

"I thought you felt better knowing Ian con-"

"So did I but I don't want people getting the wrong idea, you know?" He has that tone Ezra uses sometime, that 'you are still just a kid, believe what I tell you.' I stare at him for a second, and he lowers his eyes, realizing he used it also.

"I won't say a word," I tell him. "Plus the way you handled things with my brother? I kinda owe you one." I give him a small smile that he returns. He watches me for a second, keeping eye contact and not looking around to see if other's were watching us. "I don't have the wrong idea, you know that, right, Jason?"

He nods, and looks back towards Emily's house. "I won't keep you anymore,"

"Yeah I better get back, we're folding programs for the fashion show." He nods in understanding, and looks out over the road.

"My mom gets in tomorrow, one last speech before she steps down from the board."

"I thought Jessica Dilaurentis was the board?" I joke.

"She only joined because of my sister, Ali lived for that fashion show." I nod in understanding.

"Ali lived for all kinds of fashion." Jason chuckles and nods. "Are you going to be at the show? With your mom, I mean." He nods again.

My phone goes off just as he is about to elaborate. "That's probably your friends wanting you back in there for help." I look down at my phone and see a text from Spencer telling me to come back. I show it to him and he laughs. "Ali always said Spencer was the one most like her parents, dedicated to the point of obsession."

I laugh and get out of the car. "I'll see you later,"

"Yeah, at the show," he says, "I'll come find you before it starts." I smile and nod, telling him goodbye.

The next morning I head over to Spencer's house after she sent all of us a text to come over, since she is the earliest riser and I'm the one that sleeps the lightest, I'm the only one that makes it to her house when she actually wants us there. She fixes us coffee as I sit at the island in her kitchen and listen to what she heard her dad yelling about last night, about Jason.

"Your dad was yelling? At Ali's mom?" I ask skeptically, no one yells at Mrs. D now, she is too fragile.

"Yeah."

"Why, did you ask him about it?"

"Yeah, but he like, lied lied."

"Why would he lie?"

"The real question is what's really going on with Jason." She starts, bringing up my memory of last night and at the grave sight. Everyone seemed like they were against him except me, I didn't seem to see the danger in him that everyone else did. She starts listing off all the sketchy things Jason has done and I start bating them away with logic and the little facts that we know.

"Alright, who knows what he's feeling right now," I tell her, wanting to know that exact thing more than anyone.

"Well, apparently you do," Spencer mumbles, making me roll my eye and sip my coffee, thinking it's too early to be hashing things out with Spencer. She looks towards her computer and opens her email.

"I just got an email from Ali's mom." She says, staring at her computer.

"What's it say?"

"I don't know I'm too scared to open it, do you think she knows I called her and hung up last night?" I start to comfort her and assure her that isn't possible when my phone goes off too.

"I just got the same email." Not as scared as Spencer, I open the email and read. "Why does Ali's mom want to have lunch with us?"


	3. Chapter 3

" _Your mom asked the four of us to lunch...?"_ I text Jason, on my way back to my house to get dressed and prepared, no one goes to a meal with a Dilaurentis without looking their very best.

" _Why?"_ He replies almost immediately as I pull in the driveway, I stay in the car to reply.

" _I was hoping you would know."_

 _"You'll see her before I do, she hasn't come to the house yet."_ I sit back in my seat and think about what that means, about the possibilities of what Mrs. Dilaurentis wants from us. I'm about to get out of the car when my phone buzzes again. " _Do you want me to 'randomly' show up?"_ I smile at the offer but send back " _No, thanks though."_

* * *

Lunch with Mrs. Dilaurentis meant using all of the manners taught to you since you were born, including proper posture, speak when spoken to, and know the proper answer to questions. Ali's mom was just like her, and knew everything Ali thought about us, and she didn't try to hide it. She immediately reminded Hannah to have a salad, and told Emily to keep her hair down more often, Spencer and I stayed in the back as we entered the restaurant to stay away from any old Ali comments. The conversation was slow at the table until Spencer found the courage to take advantage of the situation.

"You must be really happy Jason has moved back," She says, trying lure information out of her to find out why her dad was so mad.

"Happy? I don't even think of that as our house anymore," she admits.

"Actually, we all thought Jason moving back was kind of odd." Emily says, speaking for the other two but not me.

"Jason came into family money, and it's his choice what to do with it." I try not to squirm in my seat as the conversation continue on about Jason. I kept thinking about what Jason said about his parents at the funeral, realizing he was right. "He definitely marches to his own drummer, both of my kids do. Did." She immediately corrects herself and the atmosphere turns awkward again. "You know what, I was going to wait until after lunch but now I'm thinking why wait." She walks around the table and grabs four white boxes, handing one out to each of us. We all smile graciously and open the boxes, only to have our hearts race and smiles immediately drop. We recognized these dresses right away. Mrs. Dilaurentis asks if Ali told us about them, and we know that she would never keep something so fabulous to herself, she had to flaunt them at us. "You know, I gave so much away, so fast, my husband thought it would make things easier on me, but there were certain things I just - couldn't. And when I heard the four of you were doing the show I thought, wouldn't it be nice? Ali's dream could be realized by at least her best friends."

"I.. I don't really know what you're asking," Spencer says politely, but we did. We just didn't want to.

"Mrs. Dilaurentis, are... Are you asking us to wear these?" I ask, next to me Emily makes and almost inaudible whine.

"In the fashion show?"

"Ali would have loved it. It's the four of you keeping her memory alive." She looks at us with the puppy eyes Ali inherited. "Please say yes."

When Jessica gets up to pay the bill, we all try to decide what to do, but Spencer and I turn Emily and Hannah down, confirming that we have to do this, for Ali and her grieving mother. Spencer asks me to do the photos and I agree.

"Do we need to check with before we use them?"

"I could run them past Jason," I offer and get weird looks from all of them. "I mean it might be easier for him, emotionally."

"But are you sure you want to go to that house?" Emily asks, clearly still thinking of Jason as a creepy.

"I'll just ask him to meet me after school."

"I don't know, you might not want to get him involved," Spencer says.

"It's his sister, he already is."

* * *

I get the photo video together in the morning before school, texting Jason to meet me after. He replied back while I was entering school, asking if everything was alright, I sent him back the reason I wanted to meet and he confirmed he would meet me. After school, he met me by my locker, knowing the ins and outs of Rosewood High after counseling here for a few months.

"Hey," I greet him, opening my locker and stuffing my textbooks inside it. "Your mom asked us to wear some of Ali's dresses at the show during the memorial section," I tell him.

"I'm not surprised she asked, but I am that you all agreed."

"It's kind of hard to disappoint your mom."

"Not for me, I made a talent of it." I close my locker door as he says, it and look at him with a stern look on my face.

"I've already told you not to say that stuff. Your parents love you, you're their first born, their son." He looks amused as I try to convince him, but he doesn't continue the conversation, leading the way towards the outside cafeteria.

"You seem set on believing I'm a good guy."

"You've never given me reason to believe otherwise. Keeping to yourself isn't a bad guy move, it's a lonely guy's move." I take a seat at a table and glance up at him as he thinks over my words. I don't give him a chance to reply as I bring out my laptop and show him the pictures.

"Where was this one taken?" He asks as we reach a string of pictures on the same porch.

"I'm not sure, I think Spencer's lake house."

"Cool," He says, then leans back and watches me, "Did my mother ask you to do this too?" He asks.

"What? No." I reply too quickly, he gives me a look, his head tilted to the side and his mouth slightly open to where I can see his tongue and outline of teeth. I smile and tell him the truth. "Why?"

"Just seems like something she would do, we all know you can't say no."

"What?" I exclaim indignantly, "I can so!" He laughs and turns back to the pictures. I bring up the picture I was saving until he was more comfortable. "This is, um the day she came back from your grandmother's. She came straight to Emily's." I laugh at the memory and can feel Jason watching me.

"Use it, she looks happy there." He says nonchalantly.

"She went straight home after Emily's to get dinner and then head to Spencer's party in the barn." I tell him, watching him. He notices the change in my glances and I see him narrow his eyes slightly before shrugging.

"Okay..." He waits to hear why I'm telling him all of this.

"I was just worried that if we used any pictures from the day she disappeared that-"

"Well I don't think anyone but you guys will know that," He assures me.

"Really what about your mom or-" he turns to look at me, daring me to say it. "or you?"

"I don't remember anything from that day," he reminds me, his walls that he occasionally let slip, building up again.

"No, I know that you said that, but I guess I just figured that since it was your last meal as a family that-"

"Aria," He interrupts me, keeping his voice calm. "Why am I here?"

"I just thought you'd be sensitive to anything that might be a little difficult to your mom," I admit, trying not to say I was trying to protect him in the little ways I can.

"My mother and I live on different planets." He tells me, getting bitter, but I can't stop now.

"I know but you must remember something from that night-"

"I don't, only from the next morning when I was questioned by the cops, and you know this is beginning to feel a lot like that." He raises his voice at me in anger. "I mean why are you accusing me all of a sudden." Those words hit me hard and he can see my face change immediately.

"No I'm not, I-"

"What exactly is it you're looking for here?" He watches me, almost looking betrayed and I back down, realizing I took our small friendship for granted.

"I'm sorry, this was a bad idea." He gets up and grabs his jacket.

"You're right it was."

"Jason I-"

"Look, I get it okay. We all learn from our mistakes, I just won't make this one again." He turns and heads towards the door, and for a second I think about letting him walk away.

"Jason wait!" I leave my stuff behind and jog after him, closing the cafeteria door before he can walk away. "I'm sorry, I crossed a line and I am aware of that. I won't make that mistake again, but I don't want you to think meeting me was a mistake. I promise I didn't ask you here to attack you with questions, I asked you here so I didn't put any pictures in the show that might trigger bad feelings from you. That's all I swear." He watches me with an emotionless stare as I say sorry, giving away nothing.

"I'll see you on Saturday," He replies, opening the door despite me putting all my strength into closing it and walking away.


	4. Chapter 4

Emily, Spencer, and Hannah left me at the makeup station as they all went to do work, steal liquor, and put on their dress. I'm almost done with my makeup and about to start on my hair when I see Ali's mom who looks like she is in a daze walk into the room. She doesn't see me and walks straight to the entrance to the stage, right behind her, looking down at the floor was Jason. He looks up just as he is right in front of me and comes to a stop. Our eyes meet and I still can't tell if he forgives me for what happened on Wednesday, I didn't text him during the week, hoping he would keep to his word of finding me before the show started. I open my mouth to say sorry again but he continues walking with his head down. I turn around and watch him walk away, my mouth still partially open. I watch him get in line behind his mother, and as Hannah walks back into the room, he turns around and looks back at me.

"How was stealing champagne?"

"They were out," she replies bitterly, meaning there was more to the story than that but we didn't have time for a heart to heart. I look back at Jason and see him watching me still, he fixes his tie and stands up straighter as he catches my eye, trying to convey an unsaid message. I give him a half smile, one that doesn't reach my eyes and was pleading him to forgive me.

Before long we were all dressed and in line to walk down the runway. The first set of clothes were beach clothes, mine was a long white beach dress with a large hat, that's neckline went down to my belly button. When I put it on I was worried I would be self-conscious with my red bra showing, but when the light hit you and everyone is cheering for you, all nerves go out the window. I gained the kind of confidence Ali always had. Hannah and I walked all the way down the runway, posing and smiling at the cameras, I didn't even notice where Jason was sitting until I turned around and saw him watching me closely. Once backstage, it was a rush to get your next clothes on and redo your hair and then back on stage. My second outfit was more slutty and black, my hair half a foot off my head, but now I was more loose with everything we were doing and did a better pose at the end, smiling at everyone and hearing several of my male classmate shouting my name, it helped when I turned around and slapped Spencer's ass as we walked off. Backstage, the four of us tried to re-tame our hair as we got into Ali's dresses.

Hannah and I walked out first, Emily and Spencer right behind us. We were smiling for the first time at one of Ali's memorials, actually grateful to be doing something for Ali without her criticisms breathing down our backs. The photo slide I made was simple and I kept out almost all of the photos I showed Jason, keeping to the ones everyone likes and already knows. Once the four of us were at the end of the runway, we had a few seconds of looking around the crowd with shy grins on our faces and holding each other's hands, before the music suddenly changed from slow instrumental to scream-o where some woman was screaming. "Wake up everybody, because the bitch is dead!"

People started screaming, and getting up from their seats, looking around. Spencer pushed past me towards where Noel Kahn's DJ station was, and Emily and Hannah started trying to talk over the noise, to figure out what happened, walking away from me without me realizing it as I watched Jessica freak out and almost have a panic attack. I stare at the image of Ali as fire goes on the screen and "Evil Bitch Monster" is written on it. Spencer finally pulls out all of the plugs of the speakers, and turns back to look at me, all eyes were on me as I was the last one on stage. Mrs Dilaurentis stands up from her seat and leaves the room, I watch as Jason looks up at me in pity but follows his mom.

Everyone left pretty quickly afterwards, the models grabbed there stuff and left, almost taking my clothes with them, and Spencer, Emily, and Hannah all went home with their boyfriends/girlfriends, while my parents left with their parents, forgetting they were my ride home. I was in the back cleaning up my space, already on edge when I heard someone approach me from behind.

"Did you want this back?" Noel asks sarcastically, sneering at me as he holds up the CD that caused this mess. "I'd hate to leave something laying around that could get you and your friends in trouble." I narrow my eyes at him and cross my arms.

"I assumed that was yours, Noel. It only took Spencer ten seconds to shut it down. You just stood there acting shocked. Next time don't look so guilty when you sabotage an event."

"Listen, Montgomery," Noel says, stepping closer to me, grabbing my arm, and using his height to intimidate me. "You-"

"Is there a problem here?" Noel steps back immediately and looks to who interrupted him with a glare. I turn my head and see Jason turn the corner and walk up next to me, giving Noel a much scarier glare.

"No." Noel grinds out. Jason raises an eyebrow.

"Whats that?" I look at the CD Noel tried to give me.

"The unplanned finale," I answer him, staring at Noel as Jason watches me, then grabs the CD from Noel and breaks it. Noel looks at me, then Jason, and walks away.

"Did he hurt you?" Jason almost demands, taking the arm Noel grabbed and looking for any marks.

"I'm fine, thank you" I whisper, trying to meet his gaze. "Um, do you need any help cleaning up?" I offer, and he nods. I follow him to the stage and where the help were stacking chairs and picking up cups. I gathered up the dresses Ali picked out and put the other outfits in the bags we took them out of, while Jason handles moving stacks of chairs into the storage room and taking down the DJ station. When I'm finished in the changing station, I find Jason sitting on a couch by the bar, looking down at his hands.

"I guess your mom won't be wanting these back." I say, talking about the special dresses. Jason doesn't say anything as I zip up the dresses. "How many times do we have to put her away? It's like burying Alison all over again." I look towards Jason, knowing I'm talking about his dead sister, but also knowing he has to feel the same way by now. Even in death she dictates our lives. "When will people move on to gawk at the next tragedy?" I ask him. He stares at me, in understanding.

"Well if I was a stranger I'd be fascinated by the dark details," He offers.

"That's us, her brother her friends, we're the dark details." I step away from the couch and towards him as he watches me let it out. "Everyone wants to know what we are doing, and why we did things in the past. They won't let us go until they know all of our secrets. This town, I sometimes think it feeds on the lives of everyone Ali touched, and lets the rest of the town move on." I stop talking, setting the dresses down and moving in front of Jason. "Why come back? Why live in that house all by yourself?" I ask him, trying to convey a comforting sense of curiosity instead of how I questioned him earlier in the week.

"I wanted to try to put the pieces together," he tells me, taking a couple steps forward to lean on the couch. "I was looking for something."

"You still don't know who wrote that note," he looks at me in a warning. "What if it has to do with what happened that night?"

"I have my answer."

"Ian, what if he didn't-"

"There are no if's. Ian confessed. Look from now on I need to figure out how to be happy and I'd like to do that here." He shrugs as he says this, and I know he doesn't have a plan or reason for why he is here. That Spencer was wrong. He isn't plotting something, he is just looking for a Happy Ending to his so far terrible life. "Can I drive you somewhere?" He asks politely, offering me his forgiveness.

I smile gratefully and nod. "Yeah, that'd be nice." He smiles back and walks around me, brushing his hand over my arm as he moves close behind me to grab my things. I lead the way out to the parking lot and towards his car that is the last there. He opens the door for me despite his full hands and hands me my purse, placing the dresses in the back before getting in the drivers seat.

The drive back to Rosewood was quiet, Jason didn't speak until we pulled into our neighborhood. "You looked beautiful tonight."

"Thanks, I was surprised when I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be once I was actually walking down the runway," I admit, glancing over to him with a slight blush as I see him smile.

"You all looked like a natural," he compliments again. "I can see why my mom asked you to model."

"She was very persuasive, I can see where Ali got it."

"It never worked on Ali and I though, we use to play our mom better than anyone. I got bored with getting everything I wanted so I turned into the troublemaker, but Ali could never get bored of that." Jason is quiet again for a few blocks. "I don't remember much about the five of you, I was always under some sort of influence, but I remember all the tricks Ali got you to play on me."

"Ali got Emily and Hannah to do those tricks, Spencer and I stayed out of it. I think Spencer was too afraid of what you would do if you found out it was her." I laugh as I remember how easily Spencer gets scared around any of the Dilaurentis.

"What about you? Were you scared of me?" He pulls into my driveway and shuts off the lights, turning towards me and putting a hand on my chair to support him.

"I was sometimes, when you were high or stoned you weren't much of a problem to the rest of us, but when you were drinking," I stop my sentence before I continue, watching a dark shadow pass over Jason's face. "That's in the past Jason. You aren't like that anymore, you worked through it on your own at a young age and that's something to be proud of." I reach up and take his hand on my chair. "You don't scare me, creep me out, or anything. I enjoy being around you actually, no matter what other people are saying."

Jason stares at me, trying to read my mind through my eyes, and I let him, proving I am telling the truth, when he sees that, the smiles and squeezes my hand. "Thank you, Aria." I get a small tingle up my arm when he whispers my name that I brush off as the cold night air.

"Good night," I say, letting go of his hand and opening the door.

"Good night," He looks like he wants to say more, but doesn't know how so before closing the door I smile at him and say. "I'll text you and we can hangout sometime soon, prove to this town that we are more than just dark details."


	5. Chapter 5

My parents liked to hold a monthly get together with their favorite colleagues, this one was the first one since my mom moved back in so I was trying to make it special and be on my best behavior. It didn't help when I found out dad invited Ezra who I had been avoiding speaking to since the funeral. I couldn't ignore him completely, we are still dating even if no one will ever know, so I stop by Hollis before school to talk to him. When I walk in his office, Jackie, his ex-fiance, is sitting on his desk laughing and playfully touching his shoulder, before he realizes I am there he is laughing along with her and not pushing her away.

"Hey Ezra," I say, walking in and acting like I didn't see her. "Oh, am I interrupting something?" I ask, raising my brow and looking at Ezra who was wide eyed and moving away from Jackie quickly.

"Um no, Jackie and I were just talking about our time in college," he rubs the back of his neck and looks over to Jackie, who was wearing a small black skirt and white tanktop. Not proper attire for a professor. "What do you need, Aria?"

"My father wanted me to talk to you about the party he invited you to, and I'd like you to look over an essay I wrote for my mom's class." I keep my voice calm and anger out of my face as he nods and tell Jackie he'll talk to her later as he ushers her out and closes the door.

"I'm so sorry." He tells me trying to wrap his arms around me but I step out of his reach.

"Are you going tonight or not?" I snap at him.

"I will if you want me to," he replies immediately. "Do you think it'll be a good idea, or will it be too obvious and your parents will find out?" I suck in a breath at that and let it out slowly, looking down and shaking my head before looking back up at Ezra with a nasty glare on my face that makes him stutter a bit. "I mean this could be the baby step you wanted, it'll be nice for them to see us in a mature adult setting and get use to seeing us across the table."

"You and your date?" I remark, pointedly looking at his door.

"I'm not bringing a date. Jackie was just here talking, that's all, I promise." He moves forward and wraps his arms around my torso, kissing my forehead and smiling down at me. "I'll be there tonight, to make up for how I acted at the funeral."

* * *

At lunch, I head to my mom's classroom to talk to her about my weekend plans with the girls. I rush in so I have time to eat and start talking before I register who was also in her classroom. "Jason," I say in almost a question, he turns around and smiles a charming smile at me.

"Hey Aria," he replies.

"What are you doing back here?"

"Jason was talking to the counselor about talking to some at risk kids," my mom answers for him, not trying to hide how impressed she was by the man.

He looks over his shoulder at me and shrugs. "Stoners in training like I was," he clarifies. "I just wanted to tell them there is a life after high school."

"Wow," I say walking forward and standing next to him. "That's amazing."

He shrugs off the comment and stands up. "I'll see you all later."

"Yes, we'll see you tonight, Jason." My mom tells him as he heads towards the door.

"Tonight?" I ask in shock.

"I invited Jason to our dinner tonight," she clarifies, but from her expression and Jason's I can tell my shock and slight horror is written clearly on my face, but I cover it up with a smile and nod towards Jason, managing a 'great' as he leaves. Once the door closes behind him my mom asks to make sure I was okay with it and if there was anything wrong between Jason and I, to which I answered all the right questions while I went over all the things that could go wrong tonight with my secret boyfriend and my secret friend under the same roof.

* * *

" _I won't come if you don't want me there._ " I read the text as I get into my car after school, spotting the man that sent it on the basketball court watching me read it. I throw my things in the backseat and wave him over. He jogs over with the basketball still in his hand and smiles when he reaches me, it's only a small smile, so small that anyone watching us would still see the creepy Jason they want to see while I get to see the real one. "I saw how shocked you were when your mom told you, so I figured I'd let you decide if I come down with a stomach ache tonight or not." I chuckle at his joke and shake my head.

"No, I'm glad you're coming. I was only shocked, that's all." I assure him. "It's usually old professors like my dad so I'm glad you'll be there to entertain me." He smirks at my words which makes me blush and open my car door. "You know what I mean," he laughs at my innocence and leans against the car. "Do you need a ride any where? I do owe you a few." He chuckles but shakes his head.

"My car is over there and I still want to do more of a workout before I head home to get ready." I nod and start the car.

"Okay, I'll see you later, don't be late!" I tell him as I back out and head to my house.

* * *

"Ezra, glad you could make it!" My dad says, walking up to the two of us with a smile.

"Hey, a gift for the host," Ezra hands my dad the scotch in his hands with a smile only I know is shy then relieved as my dad says his approval. As I walk him into the living room he admits to asking the liquor store what my dads favorite was. He sits down and joins the conversation easily with my parents friends, while I lean against the banister and listen from across the room, feeling for the first time like a child around Ezra. As the professors go into a conversation I can't contribute to, I pull out my phone and check my messages, wondering if Jason changed his mind. I was beginning to draft a message to him when the doorbell rang.

I stood up from my spot on the wall and headed to the door, spotting the top of Jason's head in the window of the door. I can't help but smile as I open the door and see him standing there in a simple polo short and khakis with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "You clean up nice," I laugh, letting him in and taking off his brown jacket he always wears and hang it up.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he says, handing these to me. "These are for you," he watches me blush. "And your mom"

"Thank you," I tell him going into the kitchen to grab a vase, he follows me in and says hello to my mom who was getting dinner ready, "Good evening, Ella," he says going up to her and helping her lift a heavy bowl of pasta salad onto the counter.

"Thank you, Jason," she says, then says it again when she sees the flowers.

"No problem," he says. "Can I help carry anything out?"

"That'd be great, I can manage most of the dishes except the chicken so can -"

"I'm right behind you," he says, grabbing the plate with the chicken on it and following my mom into the dinning room. I follow them out, carrying the salad bowl and smile at Jason's retreating back, relieved my parents are willing to give Jason a chance that even my friends won't.

Once the table is set, dad and his colleagues walk into the dinning room and compliment my mom on her cooking. My parents tell everyone to pick a seat, so I take my usual seat next to my mom but she and my dad take seats at the head of the table so I have a corner seat between her and I that Jason takes advantage of and sits in. My dad offers Ezra a chair next to him, diagonal to me while Alice sits down in front of me and Donald next to me. We aren't a religious family so we immediately dig in. I take the salad and some chicken but leave the rest alone, not having much of an appetite as I steal glances with Ezra who talks with Alice and my dad, but doesn't try to include me in the conversation, making it hard to get my parents use to the idea of us being friends, much less an item.

I stay quiet most of dinner, eating and facing away from Ezra when he stops meeting my glances. I keep a conversation going with Jason and my mom when I notice Jason growing uncomfortable, but when they start talking about what Jason was doing for my classmates I back out of the conversation and just listen. I could contribute, tell Jason what I see kids doing, but I actually want to listen to Jason speak. He wasn't speaking like he was trying to hide anything or show his strength by proving to everyone he could do this, he was honest and modest about the great deed he was doing for people like him. The way he spoke about wanting to help teenagers that were like him, how he didn't dial down when he talked about dark past and didn't make it glamorous either, and how he didn't bother admitting he wished someone would have talked to him about it was very commendable and before long the whole table was listening to him in slight awe. He was faced away from most of the table, so when my dad asked him when he decided to talk to the kids, and Jason turned around to find everyone looking at him, I watched as his barriers went up to cover his shock and embarrassment.

"Aria actually gave me the idea," he says, turning all eyes on me.

"I did?" I ask with wide eyes. "When?"

"At Ian's funeral." He replies, looking back up to my dad who was looking between Jason and I, wondering when we became friends, Ezra was doing the same thing. "I had commented on how good of a support system she has with her family and friends, and she told me that everyone deserved one. It made me realize that maybe if I had had one when I was in high school I might not have gotten so deep into the drugs and alcohol." By the smiles of approval on my parents faces, I can tell they noticed the compliment Jason sent their way and they accept my friendship with Jason.

The rest of dinner moves on to lighter topics and Jason and I discuss ways to encourage the druggies to talk to him even if they think it's 'lame'. Everyone helps my mom clean up after dinner, then we move to the living room and Jason joins the conversation about traveling and biking, discussing with Ezra the places they have traveled. There is a knock on the door, interrupting the slight competition, that I go and get.

"George," I say in shock, as I take in our family friend George in his police attire and red and blue flashing lights behind him. He seems embarrassed for me and a little distant as he asks to see my parents. I call for them and they have the same reaction as me when they see George. I lean against the banister and listen, feeling Ezra and Jason's eyes on me.

"Theres been a situation. We have Mike at the station, he's alright." George assures my parents. I look up at Jason who was staring at me in worry, both of us waiting to hear the inevitable. "Mike got caught breaking and entering, we'll need you to come down to the station and get him." Without hesitation they both decide to leave, rushing to their car and saying goodbye to everyone in such a hurrying I'm left in a daze and can only stare up at the ceiling as the door slams and everyone goes quiet.

Thirty seconds. That's all it takes before Jason has brought the rest of dad's friends into a conversation and Ezra offers to clean up in the kitchen. I remain standing where I am until Alice takes my hand and leads me towards the couch, going on about hormones and teenage drama, trying to make me feel better but it only makes me want to puke. Jason noticed this and sits down beside me, politely suggesting the Donald and Alice head home. I barely manage to walk them out and say good byes and sorry's, Jason supporting most of my weight as I walk to and from the door.

"I need to go help Ezra clean up," I mumble as we pass the entrance of the kitchen.

"Okay," Jason says, watching me let go of his arm and lean against the wall. "Do you need anything?"

"No, it's fine," I say moving to walk out, but notice Jason grab his jacket. I take it from it and hang it up, looking him with pleading eyes. "I need you to stay though" I whisper. He nods in understanding and goes back into the living room and sits by the fire.

I walk into the kitchen to find Ezra cleaning the dishes and storing the food in tupperware. "Thank you," I say, putting the dishes in the dish washer.

"Of course," he says like this is what he is suppose to do, clean up this mess while I manage my emotions. "I'm sorry about Mike."

"Yeah." I grab the coffee pot and pour him some, then tell him I'm going to give some to Jason.

"So Jason, who is he?" Ezra asks, a tint of jealousy in his voice.

"Alison's older brother."

"Yeah I know, I guess I just didn't know he was a friend of the family."

"My mom is friends with his," I tell him. "I don't need to justify my friendship with Jason when you are friends with your Ex Fiancé." Ezra backs down at my words and scowls at the dishes as he finishes working. I shake my head as I walk back to the living room, getting more tired with each step I take.

"More coffee? Or tea?" I ask Jason, he turns, about to say yes, but when he sees my watery, droopy eyes he takes the pot from me and tells me to sit down. "Mike is going to be so mad at me." I whisper, rubbing my face.

"Why would Mike be mad at you?"

"Because of the problem I caused with my parents and the drama with Ian, he hasn't had any attention so he is doing-"

"Woah, Aria," Jason stops me, taking my shaky hands. "Your brother isn't doing this because of you, he isn't going to be mad at you, okay?"

"How do you know?" I ask in a quiet, defeated voice.

"Because I was like him, remember?" Jason gives me a look and I sigh

"So what do I do?"

Jason pauses and thinks it over, "why don't I talk to him?"

"No, he isn't your problem-"

"I don't want him to be yours either though, I want to help." He smiles and rubs my arm where there are goosebumps. "Talk to your parents about it and text me when you want me to come over and I'll be here."

I smile and lean back in the chair, for a second before excusing myself to go upstairs when Ezra comes in the room. I dig through Mike's closet and find where he stashed the things he stole, including all the things he said he would return. I find the pot that Jenna made and run back downstairs.

"I think you all should leave," I tell the two men, shocking them both.

"Are you sure?" Jason asks.

"Both of us?" Ezra clarifies.

"Yeah I think it will be best if when my parents get home it's just family." I tell them, almost pushing them out the door.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later," Ezra says, worriedly. I just nod.

"Good night, call me if you need anything," Jason says.

"Yeah I'll call you." I shut the door behind them and watch Ezra walk away and Jason pause and look back at the house, catching me watch him. When he sees Ezra drive off, he turns and walks back up to the house, I open the door to tell him sorry for creeping on him and I should be alone when my parents get back, but when I open it, he grabs me by the hand and pulls me towards him, wrapping his warm arms around me and hugging me to his chest. I tense up at the unexpected contact but relax at his comforting touch and wrap my arms around his torso with my head where his heart is, letting out a shaky breath. "Next time just tell me," Jason says leaning his head on top of mine.

"Tell you what?"

"That you need a hug, I would have even with Ezra there you don't have to worry about that." I listen to his heartbeat, letting it calm mine down. I step out of the hug after a moment and smile at Jason.

"Thank you, Jason. For everything." He smiles down at me, his eyes softening as he watches me. Spencer and the others are starting to think Jason might have killed Alison, they found an old field hockey stick that might be the murder weapon, but I could never believe that. Not this Jason, my Jason, he would never hurt someone he loved, and he loved Ali, sober or not. "I'll call you after Mike gets home, okay?"

He nods and takes me hand, giving it one squeeze before backing down the steps, not dropping my gaze.

"Good night, Aria."

"Good night, Jason."


	6. Chapter 6

A few days later Ezra found me in the pottery room, telling me he saw me run past his building, I make an excuse why I didn't stop by, not wanting to dismiss him right away. He wraps his arms around me and starts kissing my shoulder and neck, making me cringe inside.

"Can we do this later?" I ask nicely, he backs off.

"How are things at home?"

"Sucky."

"Look kids do stupid things. Probably one of his friends put him up to it."

"He's broken into other houses before." I inform him, wishing I didn't have to retell everything. "Jason found Mike trying to break into his house a few weeks ago."

"Jason," Ezra says with distaste. "As in Ali's brother? Jason? Is that what you two were talking about the other night?"

"Yeah," I say thinking back to Jason offering to talk to Mike. "Something like that." He walks with me as I put up my pottery, asking a million questions about Jenna and my brother like he always does, it's like I'm his research project sometimes. He tells me I don't have to be embarrassed around him about anything, and all I can think is that he is embarrassed of me all the time, why would I want to tell him anything to make him more embarrassed?

"Maybe you can stop by my place later?"

"Sure," I say without much feeling, he gives me his hurt puppy face so I manage a smile and tell him i'll call him later, just wanting him to give me a break.

"So, should I be worried about you, and this Jason guy?" Ezra asks seriously.

"What? No," I say immediately. I never thought of Jason like that, as us having a possible romantic relationship. He has just been there for me lately and I him, we've connected more than I have with my friends or Ezra in a while. But romantically connected? "No," I say shaking my head and turning around. I don't think so.

"Hey Jason, sorry I was at the hospital with Emily when you called, whats up?" I call Jason on the way home, needing to hear his voice to calm down after Emily and Spencer attack me with reasons why Jason was Ali's killer.

"I just wanted to check up on you, I haven't heard from you since Saturday. Is Mike doing alright?"

"He is refusing to talk about what he did or why he did it, it's making my life even more difficult," I say, leaning back in my seat while I sit at a red light.

"Are you doing alright?" Jason asks, picking up on my tone.

"Yeah, my friends and I just got done fighting when I called you."

"What about?"

You. "You don't want to know." I tell him seriously, not finding it in me to lie but not wanting to tell him we don't think Ian did it either.

"I don't care what you all fought about, that's true, but i do want to know if i can make you feel better." My heart swells at his words, but the car behind me honks for me to go when i don't notice the light change. "Are you in your car?"

"Yeah I just left the hospital, I'm headed home to crawl in bed and sleep until Monday."

Jason pauses on the other line and speaks up as I enter the neighborhood, "why don't you stop by my house? I can make you some comfort food." I can hear his smile as he speaks, encouraging me to take a left to his house.

"Well... I should get home..."

"I have cookie dough that my mom left behind."

"Are you trying to bribe me, Dilurantes?" I ask, shutting off my head lights and pulling into his driveway and around by his garage so that Spencer doesn't see my car when she gets home.

"Depends if it will work or not." I close my door softly. And walk up his front steps.

"I hope you're a good cook then." I ring the doorbell just as I hangup and hear Jason laughing inside

He lets me in with a charming smile and leads me to the living room. He hasn't changed much inside the house unlike on the outside. All of the photos and furniture is in the same place and the piano Ali played was open and ready to be played. It looked as if he was still living with his parents instead of alone in their house. "Chocolate or cinnamon?"

"Chocolate," I answer immediately, standing by the stairs and looking at the pictures lining the walls. "Jason?" I call.

"Yeah?" He pops his head around the corner and spots me by the stairs, "feel free to walk around, I haven't had time to redecorate yet so it'll all still be in the same place." He disappears around the corner again, and I could have taken advantage of what he said, Spencer would have, but if he was trying to hide something or someone from me, he wouldn't have invited me over.

I follow him into the kitchen and see him placing the cookie dough on a sheet even though the oven hasn't started pre heating yet. "You know you have to let the oven warm up before you start cooking, right?" I tease, turning the oven on to 350.

"This is my first time baking food, if you can believe that."

I laugh at Jason and plop up on the counter. "I can actually." I say, grabbing a small chunk of dough and sticking it in my mouth.

He continues to place the dough an inch apart, swatting my hand away whenever i try to steal another chunk of cookie dough, once he is done and the oven beeps, he places the cookies in and sets the timer. "So, Aria," Jason says, leaning against the fridge watching me swing my legs on his counter.

"So Jason," I mimic him, feeling the stress of this week fade.

He smiles at my playfulness. "I don't think I know you as well as you do me."

"I don't think I know you at all, actually." I rebuff, still playful but serious.

"Whats your life been like while I was away? I heard you traveled for a year and then came back."

"Yeah, traveling was a lot of fun."

"And coming back?" He raises his eyebrows as he asks the question.

"It's been stressful, things have happened that I- I never believed could in real life. But it's made me stronger."

"You do seem different, but good different." He smiles

"Thank you." I return the smile.

"So what else? Any new friends, boyfriends?"

I laugh and blush at his words, not wanting to lie or talk about Ezra. "That's too complicated to talk about over comfort food." He nods and respects my privacy, moving on to simpler topics about where I traveled to, where I want to go. We talk the whole time the cookies are in the oven, and then move into the living room when we're done to eat. He sits on the couch next to me and puts his arm on it behind me, his arm not on my shoulders but above it.

"So are you glad your back? Any new friends or boyfriends?" I mimic him, making him laugh and slip his arm on my shoulder to squeeze it.

"Just you, Aria." He laughs. "You're the only one crazy enough to enter Jason's Haunted House!" He says the last words in a sarcastic spooky voice that makes me laugh.

"Yeah the man that doesn't know how to bake cookies is so scary!" We laugh for a few minutes and eat the cookies, talking lightly about all the crazy things people think about him. "The girls are all afraid of you, like the rest of the town, but I just don't see it." I scrunch my eyebrows together and examine him in the lamps light. "Sure you're a tough guy, but you aren't scary."

He smiles and shakes his head at me. "I can be, Aria. The town is right to keep their distance from me."

"You don't scare me." I say, moving my head side to side at each word, keeping myself from sticking my tongue out at him.

"There is no reason for me to be threatening around you." He reasons, turning around and brushing hair out of my face. I close my eyes at his touch, a wave of calm going over me. I keep my eyes close and lean against the couch as he pulls his hand away and rubs my arms. "You should probably get home, I don't want your parents to worry about both of their children."

I shake my head but agree, I just don't want to move. "Five more minutes," I plead, my head dipping forward and landing on his shoulder. He gives a throaty laugh but doesn't concede. "I'm not moving." I declare, letting him move out from under me while I fall on to the couch and get comfortable. "This couch smells like old ladies and your mom," I comment, grabbing a pillow and keeping my eyes close as Jason cleans up the cookies.

"Alright, time to go, Aria."

"Nope,"

"You have to."

"You can't ... make me." I yawn in between 'make' and 'me.'

I can hear the smirk in his voice as he says. "Yes I can." Suddenly his arms are moving under me and I feel myself being lifted off the couch. I'm about to protest, but I'm too tired to move more than positioning my head over his heartbeat for more comfort. I sigh contently, letting him carry me to his car and place me in the back seat so I can continue to lay down. He gets in the front seat, closes the door and starts to drive to my house. "I told you I can."

"You don't play fair," I mumble, lifting my hand and hitting his shoulder.

He just laughs at my pathetic hit and tells me to go to sleep, the lull of the car helping me do just that. I was already entering dream land when he pulled into the drive way and picked me up again, he carries me to my front door and rings the doorbell with his elbow. I dig my head into his shoulder at the loud sound and the bright porch light, making him chuckle again.

"Jason?" I hear my mom when she opens the door. "Oh my god, Aria. Is she alright?" My mom asks hurriedly, her hands brushing over my body for signs of bleeding or trauma, I keep my eyes asleep, going in and out of this world.

"She's fine, Ella, just asleep." Jason assures my mom, walking into the house while my mom shuts the door behind him. "She came over after visiting Emily and fell asleep on my couch, she was so tired I didn't think she would notice me moving around the house, much less moving her from my house to her's." Jason explains, shocking me that he was actually telling the truth, not making up any lies or covering parts up. He didn't hide anything about me.

"Wow," my mom says, taking a moment to process that all. "Well, thank you."

"Anytime," Jason replies truthfully. "If you'd like I can put her in the living room or you can show me which room is her's."

My mother must have nodded, because Jason started walking again and I heard his feet walk up the steps sideways, being careful not hit my head or feet on the banisters or walls. Mom shows him my room, and he walks in, not turning on the lights or placing me on the bed right away. I feel my mom's hands on my feet as she takes off my shoes, but she thankfully doesn't try to take any other articles of clothing off. As Jason carefully places me on the bed, mom pulls my covers over me. I shiver despite the covers, my bed still cold from being vacant all day, making me yearn for Jason's body warmth back.

"Thank you, Jason," my mom says, her voice fading down the hall while I open my eyes a little to see Jason close my door.

"Anything for Aria."


	7. Chapter 7

Friday at school, after a week without any of us receiving and A texts, Emily walks with me down the halls in the morning, asking how Mike was, sounding a bit bitter since her house was one of the victims. All week I've been spending time with Jason at my house and his, just talking and him helping me with some homework. My mother thinks there is more going on, my father hasn't decided if he approved yet, and Mike was no longer hormonal, but an emotionless zombie.

"What's he doing here?" Emily suddenly asks in fear. I look around to see if Garrett was in the halls but only see Jason walking down the hall with one of the students he was helping. When he passes and sees me, he smiles and waves, continuing on with the student.

"He counsels kids on substance abuse," I tell her, trying to calm my emotions and stay neutral.

"Why is he waving at you?" She accuses, and I feel heat rise to my cheeks as I think about all the reasons he would wave at me, all our meetings we've had that I haven't kept from anybody except the people I usually keep secrets with.

"Because he had dinner at my house the other night?" I tell her, talking about the chinese we had a few nights ago but Emily doesn't need to know that.

"Did something happen at this dinner you didn't tell us about?"

"No."

"Then why are you blushing." There was one really good answer to that, one I had to tell one of my girls.

"Because I had a dream about him last night okay? Stop asking questions." I hurry out, not wanting to admit to myself I was thinking about Jason like that when I haven't spoken to Ezra in a few days. I wasn't even trying with him anymore, but I didn't want to just move on with Jason so quickly. Or ever.

"What kind of dream?"

"We were in bed, naked, and he tried to kiss me and then I woke up." I say it nonchalantly, but that dream was nothing but chalant.

"Oh my god, how could you?" Emily accuses me.

"I can't control what my brain does while I'm asleep, Em." I retort.

"Aria, he might be a killer." Here we go again, every time Spencer or Emily try to convince me of their new theory of how terrible Jason is, my temper rises and the only one that can bring it down is the one they are accusing of murder. Jason was starting to notice the stress my friends were causing me, but he respected me when I tell him I don't want to talk about it, trying to cheer me up without knowing what was upsetting me.

"Jason is no more dangerous than we thought Toby was a few months ago," I rebuke.

"Toby was never linked to weapon that could have dented Ali's skull."

"Could have doesn't mean he did!"

"Look, I can see why you're attracted to him. He's mysterious and wounded, and we all know you like to fix things, but you're playing with fire." He was more than all of that and he was trying to help me, while I helped him. He was part of my support system now too. "And besides why are you dreaming about Jason when you have Ezra?"

"Because I don't, have Ezra." I reply bitterly, not wanting to go into these details either. I don't want to have to explain everything that happens in my life to my friends. If my boyfriend doesn't like going to public places with me or acting like I'm as mature as him like he promised he would, I don't want to explain that to my friends that get to flaunt theirs relationship around town.

"You guys love each other, you just need to find a way to connect again." Emily tells me, hinting at the real meaning of connect. The thought makes me shiver in disgust inside, not the reaction Emily is looking for.

"Can we keep this conversation between us?" I don't want the rest of the girls jumping down my throat.

"Only if you promise to stay away from Jason." Emily tells me, backing away to head to class, I give her a tight smile, but don't say anything as she turns the corner. Before the bell can ring, I rush towards the guidance office and go into Jason's temporary office. No one is in here so I sit in his chair and wait, rubbing my temples to relieve my headache.

"Aria?" I don't hear him come in but hear him shut the door and swivel the chair around. "Let me guess-" He begins, about to tell me the exact words I always tell him when I come to him for calming, that I got in a fight with my friends.

"Please don't, Jason." I beg, looking up at him with a frown. "You said I could just tell you next time I needed a hug." His stern face melts away quickly and he pulls me out of his chair and wraps his arms around me. "What are the chances of you forging a note from Mr. Bingley?" I ask after a minute of his heartbeat calming me down. He pulls away and furrows his eyebrows.

"I can write you a note, you know?"

"I have my mom first hour," I explain and he chuckles. "She wouldn't be happy if she knew I skipped the first few minutes of her class to visit with you."

"Alright, I'll try." He releases me and grabs a sticky note of the desk. "You know, your idea about telling the kids my story before having them tell theirs has been the best strategy to work so far."

"Really?"

"Yup, and apparently word spread fast about my drug story because I've found some students that need help so bad because they've come to me for tips on hiding their scent and glassy eyes."

"No!" I exclaim in horror and slight laughter. He laughs along with me and hands me the note. "That's awful, I won't ask who, because out of the stoners I know who are the dumbest." I grab my bag and the doorknob. "I'll text you later?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving right after school to go work on my backyard if you need a ride?"

"Thanks, but I'm taking a taxi to go see my dad at Hollis after school." Making a last second decision that I should have made long ago. He nods and sits down in his chair, smiling as his goodbye.


	8. Chapter 8

I was wearing my 'take me serious' outfit when I walked into Ezra's office, and he noticed right away, as did Jackie who was leaning on his shoulder. "I need to talk to you, Mr. Fitz." I say just above monotone, staring Jackie in the eye as she straightens up and walks past me, saying goodbye to Ezra but ignoring me.

"Aria that-"

"I'm breaking up with you." I say before I can hear any of his excuses that make me doubt myself and my reasoning. My words make him stumble into his desk before he stands up straight again, opening his mouth to say something, shaking his head as he does it, but I don't give him a chance to speak yet. "I loved you, Ezra. You were my first love and probably will always be my most scandalous, but I don't want to sneak around anymore. I want to have someone by my side when I need them there, in public or alone, I want someone to comfort me without me having to explain every detail of the problem to them, and I want someone that will make it clear to other women that they are unavailable. We keep saying that we are going to tell people, but even if we finally get to that step I don't believe you are prepared to go through the trouble of staying together through the criticism. You could loose your job here also, Ezra. You could go to jail if we told the whole truth. I may not feel like I love you anymore, but I don't want you to go through all of that when your heart isn't in it anymore either." I say the words clearly, but a bit rushed, raising my voice a little whenever it looks like he is going to interrupt me. By the time I'm finished, there are tears in his eyes and he is sitting on his desk.

"I love you, Aria," He whispers, his eyes pleading with me.

"No you don't, Ezra. If you did, if both of us did these past few weeks, we would have done something to save this relationship instead of letting it die out. I'm sorry." I back out of his office but he stands up quickly and rushes towards me, grabbing my arms and kissing me. I let him get it out of his system, standing their like a statue despite bruises forming around my wrists. When he finally steps back, he doesn't let go but he loosens his grip.

"I'll go down the hall and tell you're dad right now, I promise I will. Just please stay with me." Ezra begs, shaking me a little.

"There is nothing to tell him anymore. That time has passed, Ezra" I pry his hands off me and say sorry again.

"How can you be so emotionless?!" Ezra snaps at me grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from the door. "Were you just playing me or something? Was this all a damn joke to you, Aria?"

"No, Ezra. I did love you."

"No you didn't. Don't lie to me. If you ever loved me you would fight for me! For us! We are worth it."

"Ezra, please-" I try to pull away from him but he throws me on top of the couch and starts kissing me again, more forcefully this time. He grabs a fist full of my hair and pushes my head to him, moving against my hips and holding my hands above me. He tries to pry my mouth open with his own but I take the opportunity to bite down on his lip. "Ezra, stop."

"Is this about Jason?" Ezra asks, glaring at me and still holding my arms over my head, pinning me to the couch. "Tell me."

"No, it's about not being public. I don't love you anymore, let me go." I try to stay calm, knowing Ezra isn't thinking right but we were in the wrong position for Jackie to come back in and see.

Before he shoves me against the couch again and starts trying to take my shirt off, I hear him mumbler "Never," but once his hands release mine, I slap him in the face and bring my knee up in between his legs. He makes a groan of pain but I push him off of me and grab my purse from the floor, bolting out of the room and running all the way until I'm off campus and at the bus stop.

I fumble with my purse to get the money, my hands shaky as the bus pulls up in front of me and it's doors squeal open, I hurry on the bus and find a seat, not realizing I'm crying until the tears drop down my chin. I dig into my purse again, watching the bus stop again, and again in two minute intervals, I got on just as rush hour started so it would take me longer to get home than a taxi. The longer I sit and stare out the window, the more the tears fall down my face until I'm holding in my sobs to keep from looking like a maniac on the bus, when we reach Rosewood and have passed the exit to Ezra's apartment, I press call on the number on my phone screen I have been waiting to call until I felt safe.

"Jason?" I ask when he picks up.

"Hey, Aria, I stopped by your house earlier to drop of a card I got from a therapist I know, I think it could really-"

"Jason," I interrupt him, hiccuping after I speak.

"Aria?" He speaks more urgently, catching on to my state of mind. "What's wrong? Where are you? What happened? Are you hurt?" He demands in a panic.

"I'm on a bus," I answer in a whisper, watching the street light pass. "Can.. Can you pick me up at the bus stop by your house? Please?" My voice shakes as I plead for him to rescue me, tears dropping on to my phone and my nose running.

"Yeah, of course, I'll be there right away." I hear him on the other line dropping some sort of equipment and grabbing his keys. "I"m on my way now, okay?"

"Okay," I whisper, leaning my sweaty forehead against the cold window. "I'm so tired, Jason."

"Stay on the phone, Aria." Jason demands, his car starting in the background. "Do not hang up. I'll be there the second you get off the bus, you don't have to worry anymore."

I don't say anything in reply, just watch the lights fly past and wait for the bus to stop again. When the bus turns the corner and slows down as it approaches the stop, I see Jason sitting on the bus bench, his knee bouncing up and down and his hair messed up form him running his hands through it. The moment he hears the bus, he shoots up and walks towards it, scanning the windows until he sees my tear stained face, and if possible his expression becomes even more worried. I hurry off the bus, moving before it stops and run towards him, needing him to do exactly what he does: wrap his arms around me, pick me up, take me to his car. I keep my face buried in his shoulder the whole way, the tears and shakes starting up again. He sits down in the back seat and continues to hold me close, rocking slightly and whispering how he will take care of me, that I'm okay now, and he won't leave me.

When the shaking has stopped and my tears start to trickle instead of pour, I pull away from Jason and wipe my face. He offers me a box of tissues from the floor, running his hands through my matted hair and rubbing away the shivers. I wipe my face with the tissue, try to clean up my makeup without a mirror, and clean up my watery snot; anything to make it seem like I'm better and we don't need to talk about what happened before the tears came.

"Aria, what happened?" Jason asks, but I shake my head. "No, you know I respect your privacy and would never make you tell me something you didn't want to but I need to know what caused this." I meet his gaze, tears escaping again as I think about what could have happened tonight if I hadn't been clear minded. A sob escapes my lips, and an expression of what looks like recognition passes over Jason's features before he grows angry. "Did someone hurt you?" He demands and grips my arm, not tightly but enough to get my attention on normal days and make me wince on days like today. He lets go immediately and turns on the lights inside the car, lifting my arms and staring at the bruises forming around my wrists. He finally takes in all of me, not just my depressed features, but my unbuttoned shirt and messy hair,. His eyes grow wide and his face pale, his eyes revealing a mess of emotions going through his head. Mainly anger. "Aria. Tell me what happened. Now." Jason demands, his voice dropping lower and his gaze set on me, ordering me to do as he says, to calm him down while he calms me down.

"I broke up with my boyfriend," I whisper. "He didn't take it well, but this was all he did, Jason, I swear." I motion to the bruises and look Jason in the eye, from the car lights his face is shadowed. "He tried to... but I stopped him and ran straight to the bus stop by Hollis. I-"

"Hollis? A college student did this?" I could see it in his eyes he was trying to narrow down who attacked me.

"No, his name is Mr. Fitz," I whisper.

"Ezra Fitz?" Jason grounds out, shaking as bad as I was a minute ago. "I'm going to kill him!" Jason growls.

"Jason!" I exclaim , he focuses back on me and sees I'm afraid again, this time of him. "I don't want anything to do with Ezra again. I called you because I need you here with me, not off becoming a murderer!"

His gaze softens, but not back to how it normally is. "I am here for you, I just hate that I can't always protect you from others. These people are suppose to be the support system you can brag about at funerals." He gently wraps his arms around me and pulls me to him. "I'm sorry, do you want to talk about what happened, or why you broke it off, or maybe how your week has been?"

"I wasn't in love anymore," I whisper, leaning against his shoulder and breathing slowly, I can hear my phone buzzing in my purse but I'm too afraid of who is on the other line to answer. "And I was tired of hiding our relationship from everyone, you're only the fourth person to know about it."

"You wanted to tell people?" Jason asks, trying to piece together the problem so he can solve it for me.

"When he started working at Hollis that was the plan, but he never followed through. He was good at coming up with excuses though, always made it seem like he was in the right and I just didn't understand because of my age. I think it was the funeral that I stopped trying, I needed a hug that day and he just walked away." I sniff and pull away to wipe my eyes again, but Jason takes my hands and turns me towards him.

"I will do anything I can to make you feel better after what he put you through, but I am glad he walked away that day." He smiles a little when he says it, making me smile and nod.

"I am too." I lean back on him and he turns the car lights off again, holding me close to him. "Thank you, Jason."


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, Emily," I say as she sits down in front of be before school. I had turned my phone off last night when Ezra started to call me and fell asleep the moment I hit the bed when Jason dropped me off. I had almost twenty miscalls from her and Spencer when I woke up but I didn't want to talk explain myself over the phone..

"Aria! Where have you been?!" I open my mouth to reply, but she cuts me off. "Aria you have to leave Jason alone, Spencer and I went in his shed last night and he created his own dark room."

" _You_ broke into his shed?" I ask, remembering him telling me on the ride home he had to clean out his shed because someone broke in.

"That's not the point! He developed pictures of you sleeping, or drugged." Emily yells at me. I sit up straight and go wide eyed.

"What? Are you sure?" I ask just as frantic, I wouldn't believe this. Jason wouldn't do this.

"You should be terrified!" Spencer sits down next to Emily. "I personally never believed his act about him helping the kids in school or Mike. He was just doing it to get close to you and get into your house."

"No, Spence, that can't be the whole story. I know Jason -"

"Aria, he's dangerous, you need to stay away from him!" Spencer yells at me, the thought of not spending time with Jason making my stomach churn.

"Fine." I reply. "Fine, I'll talk to you guys later."

"Jason!" I call as I see him in the hall, jogging up to him. He looks me over when he hears my tone, making sure I'm okay before he relaxes. "Can I talk to you?" I ask urgently, he picks up on the harsh tone and furrows his eyebrows.

"Hey, of course what-"

"Why do you have those pictures of me?" I ask, watching his eyes narrow and shoulders tense.

"What?"

"My friends said they found pictures you had of me sleeping," I tell him, my heart racing. "How did you even take them? Did you climb my tree in the middle of the night or something?" My voice rises slowly, from anger and fear. Fear of the truth and anger for fearing Jason.

"Wait, hold up, your _friends_ are the ones that broke into my dark room?" Jason clarifies, getting equally angry.

"So what?" I try to keep the topic focused on the real problem. "Why did you have those pictures, Jason?"

"That is so typical of this town. Going behind people's back to find out what they want instead of asking a direct question," Jason rants angrily, saying something similar to what we joked about a few nights back about the lies in this town.

"I'm asking a direct question, Jason!" I retort, my eyes begging for the truth. "Why did you take them and when."

"I didn't take them," he snaps back. "Ali did. She had pictures of all of you sleeping but I only developed the ones of you. To give them to you. As a gift." He crosses his arms and looks down at me, a look of betrayal on his face. "Anything else you want to accuse me of, Aria?"

"You have to admit this looked bad, Jason," I defend, dropping offense. "What were they suppose to think?"

"They were suppose to stay out of my shed and talk to me not behind me." He shakes his head and shrugs. "I'll talk to you later." He turns and starts to walk down the hall, nodding to a few students but not turning around.

"Wait!" I shout after him, ignoring the looks I was giving. "I'm sorry, Jason," I say grabbing his hand and standing in front of him. "Thank you, for the pictures. Could we meet after school, I'd like to see them."

"Sure," he uncrosses his eyes arms but still wears an emotionless mask. "Were you scared of me when your friends told you?"

"No, they told me a few minutes ago and I came to find you right away. I just wanted the truth because I now they jump to conclusions about you."

"You're right, they do." He pauses and watches me squirm under his stare. "The fights you have had with them this past week have been about me, haven't they?" I hesitate, and he nods. "What do they think I did?" I open my mouth, not knowing what I'm going to say, when I see two familiar black heads walk down the halls, making me stumble backwards and run into a student. "Aria?" Jason asks, his tone changing drastically as he steadies me, "what's-" he turns around and stops.

He sees Ezra pass by us, not noticing us as Jackie walks by him. He is in a slight daze, a hurt expression etched on his face, as he walks by. Jason moves me behind him, almost by instinct, and doesn't drop is gaze on Ezra's back until he turns the corner.

"What is he doing here?" Jason grounds out, watching the corner Ezra disappeared behind.

"College fair," I squeak. Jason turns around and takes in my pale face.

"You aren't going."

"I have to," I stumble out, partly because I want to go to the college of my dreams, but also because I don't want Jason telling me what I can and can't do.

"Aria, please, I'll get you information from every college, except Hollis, and help you get college visits to any that you want to ask questions to, but Aria, the incident with Fitz happened last night. I'm not going to forget about what he did to you for a long time, and I'm certainly not allowing him to get near you again." He takes my hand and squeezes. "For me." He pleads, furrowing his eyebrows, showing he is giving me a choice, but he needs me to pick the right one.

"Okay, I won't." I promise him just as the bell rings. "I'll see you at the Brew after school?"

"Yeah, don't be late to class."

I stick my tongue out at him. "Don't be late to the Brew."

* * *

When Jason walked into the Brew a hour after school ended, he had a good excuse when he held up gift bag and handed it to me in a peace offering before she could say anything. "The pictures," he explains when I give him a look.

I open the bag and place the framed pictures in front of me. "These are beautiful," I comment.

"Yeah," Jason agrees, watching me examine each of them. "I didn't even know Ali was artistic."

"I barely remember her taking pictures." I set the pictures down and look over all of them as I speak my thoughts. "It's weird, getting to know someone after they're gone." He nods, not saying as much as he usually does when I bring up his sister, though even that is little. "Look, um.. I know this isn't an excuse but, my friends broke in because they've been through a lot." He nods, both of us thinking back to our comfort food night when I told him how much I had changed since I came back due to everything that has happened.

"I think we're all looking for answers. That's how I found this roll of film in the first place."

"Where did you find it?"

"I'm finally redecorating inside the house after your comment about how it smells like old people and my mom," he jokes lighting up a bit, forgiving me for accusing him again. "I pulled up her floorboard and found a box of her stuff."

"What else was in the box?"

"Nothing really," he looks over the pictures and shakes his head. "Keeping secrets and hiding things became such second nature to Ali, I don't think she even knew why she was doing it half the time. When something becomes a habit, it's hard to stop you know?" I nod in understanding, but still want to be able to pick apart that box, knowing that Ali didn't tuck things away for nothing. She would let everyone see all of her possessions to flaunt them, unless they were apart of her secrets or someone else's.

"So have you found anything else of hers?" I ask, dancing around my actual question, but Jason has figured my tactics out by now.

"No," he shakes his head and smirks. "You can take a look at it if you want, it's back at the house." I hesitate before I answer which makes Jason chuckle. "Or you can wait for a family member or friend to break in and steal it." I laugh and nod, standing up and gathering the pictures. "Here I'll carry them, after my house we can go back to yours and figure out where to put them."

I nod and we head out of the store.


	10. Chapter 10

"Spencer?" Ezra asks as the eleventh grader slips into his car. "Do you need a ride or something?"

"I need to talk to you." Spencer says, nervous about talking to Ezra after knowing him and Aria have been having troubles, but knowing how much Ezra loves Aria, she believes he would be able to convince Aria to stay away from Jason. "Okay, I need to tell you something, but first, I have to tell you something else first." She speaks slowly so he can follow her unplanned words.

"Okay.."

"I know about you and Aria." Spencer dives in, shocking Ezra.

"Excuse me?" Ezra says, needing clarification on where Aria has told her friends they stood.

"Ezra, you don't-" He gives her a surprised look and she amends her words. "Sorry Mr. Fitz. Just listen to me! Aria is in danger." Ezra looks afraid at her words, interested afraid. "Okay, she has been hanging out with Jason Dilaurentis-"

"I know."

"No you don't! Jason is dangerous and has been stalking Aria for the past few weeks! Emily and I found pictures of her drugged in his shed but she still doesn't believe he is dangerous." Spencer rushes out, pleading with Ezra to understand the danger his now ex-girlfriend is in, but she doesn't know that last fact.

"Jason is a danger to Aria?" Ezra clarifies. "Well where is she?"

"I saw her at the Brew but she was about to leave, with Jason, she doesn't talk to us anymore because she doesn't want to hear anything bad about Jason, it's like he is brain washing her."

"I'll go to the Dilaurentis house. If you find her, bring her to me no matter what she says." Ezra starts his car and Spencer gets out to go to her's.

* * *

"The box is still up in Ali's room so just wait on the steps, I don't want you stepping on a nail or loose floorboard in those shoes." I look down at my open toe heels and nod.

"Sounds good," I reply, sitting down on his front steps and leaning against the banister as he goes inside, leaving the front door open behind him while I look out over his new front yard. I admire the new flower bed and growing plants I didn't recognize surrounding the path to the wood shed. There was still a lot to be done, and dried up plants mixing with the new ones, but all the work Jason and Toby had done on the house was looking great.

I hear the sound of a car coming down the dirt road and I mentally prepare myself for a fight if Spencer gets out of the car or if Toby is here to work on the yard, but when I see his car pull up and stop in front of the house, I go rigid, all defenses leaving my body in utter shock.

Ezra steps out of the car and walks towards me. "What are you doing here." I manage to say.

"I came to get you. Spencer told me about Jason, the photos and the brain washing, and I understand now. He put you up to breaking up with me didn't he?" Ezra asks, reaching the stairs as I stand up. "He is dangerous Aria, your friends think so too and I'm here to take you away from him."

"You don't know anything, Ezra. You need to leave now." He recognizes the fear in my eyes and mistakes it.

His eyes soften and he reaches for me. "You don't have to be scared anymore, Aria, I'll handle Jason, just get in the car." He walks up the stairs as I back towards the door and grabs my already bruised wrist.

"Ezra stop, I don't want to go with you." I hold my ground and his hold tightens.

"We'll work through our problems but staying here is not an option, Aria." Ezra orders, pulling on my wrist and making me stumble down the porch steps.

"Ow!"

"Aria?" I hear Jason call down the steps inside. I open my mouth to shout for him but Ezra covers it.

"Aria, you don't understand who this man is, but I do, you need to get in the car now." Ezra pushes me towards the car, my feet dragging on the gravel and my hand frailing around. Tears are starting to form in my eyes as we get closer to the car and my heart is beating louder, but I know Jason heard me, so I take a chance and bite down on Ezra's hand, hard.

"Jason!" I gasp when Ezra releases me out of instinct. Before Ezra can muffle me again I scream Jason's name, the end of his name muffling when Ezra tries to cover my mouth again but when I bite his hand he gives up trying to cover my mouth. Inside the house I hear Jason drop the box, and shout my name. Ezra cusses and picks me up and runs towards the car. "Jason!" I shout again, kicking and screaming his name as Ezra tries to put me in the car.

"Aria, this is to protect you, get in the car now."

"Hey!" suddenly Ezra is thrown from the car and on the ground, hitting his shoulder on a rock. "Don't touch her!" Jason yells. I scramble out of the car and on to his porch, standing in the door way, wrapping my arms around myself to stop the shaking, and watching Jason punch Ezra in the jaw then grab the garden shovel.

Standing above Ezra wasn't my Jason, this was the Jason I glanced at in the car last night, the Jason we saw when he wasn't sober. His eyes were wide in the way that you knew he was seeing red, and his jaw was set securely with nose flaring; his knuckles were white from how tightly he gripped the shovel and his knees were slightly bent like he was getting ready to pounce or dead-lift Ezra.

"I want you off my property now, Fitz and if I ever see you near Aria again I will beat your head in with this shovel!" Jason lifts the shovel over his head in threat but Ezra stands his ground.

"I'm not the one brainwashing her and turning her against her friends! You leave Aria alone, she is too good for you!"

"You don't think I know that? At least I have the decency to protect her and not force myself on her like a lowlife." Jason raises the shovel higher and makes Ezra shake in fear. "You hurt Aria, no one is allowed to get away with that." Jason threatens one more time before moving the shovel over his head and getting ready to smash Ezra's head into his flowers.

"Jason!" I scream from the porch, leaning forward but not moving from the spot, he freezes before hitting Ezra, turning his body to look at me on his porch. "I need you here, not in jail." I take small steps towards the two men, reaching Jason and placing a hand on the shovel hovering over Ezra's head. "Please." Jason meets my eyes for a moment, then lowers the shovel and throws it just beside Ezra.

"Leave," Jason growls at Ezra, wrapping an arm around me and positioning himself between Ezra and I. "She broke up with you, that was her choice now you need to deal with it. Alone." Jason begins backing up, keeping his eyes on Ezra as he stands up and dusts himself off. "Get off my property before I call the cops."

"Aria, don't believe him, he is stalking you! I love you and will protect you from this monster."

Jason snarls and lets go of me, walking back towards Ezra. "You think you deserve her? With your button up shirt, fancy parent money, and empty words? That you could beat me with those skinny arms? You might bruise a frail thing like Aria but if you keep talking I'll show you what happens to men like you!" Ezra runs to his car and burns rubber as he leaves, Jason picks up a rock and chucks it at the car, nicking the side but not breaking any glass. When we can't hear the tires anymore, Jason rushes back to me and looks me over, running his hands over my face and arms to feel for lumps or look for bruises while I stand there and watch him.

"You really were going to hit him, weren't you?" I whisper as he checks the bruises on my wrists and helps me up the stairs. He pauses on the last step when he hears my words, but then continues on.

"I told you the town was right to keep it's distance." He helps me onto the couch, putting a blanket over my lap and walking into the kitchen, reemerging with an ice pack, water, and Ali's box. He places the box next to me and the water on the coffee table, as he gently places the pack on the darker bruise, not meeting my eyes and trying to keep his hands busy.

"You still don't scare me." I whisper, rubbing my wrist as he meets my gaze, his hair getting into his eyes. I raise my hand and brush it away, Jason closes his eyes at my touch and sighs; he leans into my touch and glances at me, both of us not saying anything for a long moment.

"Did he hurt you again?" Jason asks, taking my hand away from his face to examine. "You're bruise looks worse."

"It feels worse too." Jason shakes his head and locks his jaw.

"I wanted to kill him when I saw him pushing you into that car, I really did," Jason admits, looking at Ali's box on the table. "I don't know, I didn't want to kill him, I guess. But that punch sure felt good." I chuckle at that and lean on his shoulder. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Aria. And if they do, they won't get away with it. I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

"Do you think she did something crazy?'

"Like what?"

"Like burn rubber till she hits texas."

"And leave her phone?" Spencer inquires.

"I would, A had his/her/its hands around her neck and keeps reminding her about it.'

"She hasn't slept in weeks." Hannah comments

"Who has?"

"Hannah, did you not see this on Emily's phone?" Spencer hands Hannah the phone, who then makes a disgusted face and hands it to me.

"Is that you?" She asks, showing me a picture of Ezra and I kissing from a few weeks ago. A doesn't know.

"Oh my god, A doesn't know yet." I say in astonishment.

"Doesn't know what?" Spencer asks.

"We.." I hesitate, thinking back to Tuesday when Jason protected me from Ezra after Spencer sent him looking for me. I hadn't told them about it, because they didn't ask once I showed them the pictures Ali took and the box Jason gave to me. "I broke up with Ezra."

"You what?"

"Why?"

"Can we not do this right now? It also has a text, 'clue Ella in and I'll let you out, A'."

"Emily would never send that to your mom."

"Well, of course she wouldn't because she can't 'cause we have her phone and she left in the middle of the night. Where the hell is she?" We move towards the door together and grab our phones and Emily's.

"We have to tell someone Emily is missing," I tell them.

"We can't tell my mom." Hannah says. "Or her parents since their in Texas.

"Then we tell Dr. Sullivan." Spencer concludes.

* * *

"That's not what we agreed on," we hear Jenna almost yell from across the outside cafeteria.

"Yeah, we think she had help from Garrett," Spencer clues Emily in.

"Yeah but why?" I ask.

Hannah and Spencer sit back and look at me, Emily looking between the three of us until she spots the reason for Spencer and Hannah's sudden hostility towards me. I turn around and see Jason standing a few feet in the doorway talking to his most constant visitor. He must feels our eyes on him because he turns while talking and catches my gaze, sending me a smile and then staring at the other girls till they turn away.

"I think you need to explain why you broke up with Ezra and are blushing from Jason Dilaurentis smiling at you," Spencer accuses sounding like her lawyer parents.

"You broke up with Ezra?" Emily asks loudly, and I can feel Jason's eyes move back to me, the other girls notice and they lower their voices. "Was it because of Jason?"

"No," I shake my head, rubbing my left temple as they all stare at me. "I just couldn't deal with having to hide our relationship anymore, and if I had been dating Ezra last night and told him how my mom reacted to Spencer in the same car as him he would have never gone public with us. I loved him, but I didn't want to spend the rest of Junior and Senior year hiding us." I defend myself quickly and heatedly. "Jason has no influence over my decisions, he isn't brainwashing me, he is just there if I need him."

"How did Ezra take it?" Emily asks before the other two can get a word in.

I hesitate, almost look back at Jason, but bring my hand up from my lap and pour a bit of my water on the makeup covering the bruises. The swelling has gone down but they have gotten darker, Jason said that means they were healing, but it also meant i needed to hide them now. The reactions from the girls melt away any fears they would be on Ezra's side. Emily gingerly takes my hand while her and Hannah gasps and Spencer says "oh my god!"

"Ezra did this to you?" Spencer asks, after looking the bruises over and Hannah fishes out more coverup for me to use.

"He didn't want to believe it, so he tried to kiss me and other stuff... but I got away and Jason picked me up. Then yesterday he came to Jason's while I was getting Ali's box and thought Jason made me break up with him so he tried to throw me in the car, which made the bruise worse" The girls look at me like I'm fragile, a look we have been giving Emily lately, and it makes me self conscious. "I'm alright though, Jason came out before I was in the car and made Ezra leave and then put ice on my wrist." They take this information differently, Hannah nods because she was never on either side on what Jason is or is not hiding, Emily seems relieved I'm alright, and Spencer seems to be thinking of a reason Jason is doing all of this for me if he isn't another stalker. "Spencer, leave Jason alone. He isn't hiding anything in his house, I've been in it more than once now and the only thing in it is all the things we've seen in there for years. No dead bodies, no stowaways in the basement, I don't think he even has contact with Garrett and Jenna, he keeps to himself because he knows what this town thinks of him, what you all think of him."

"You told him?" Spencer accuses, but I just roll my eyes.

"Spencer, you sent Ezra to his house shouting about Jason brainwashing and stalking me, he has a pretty good idea what you think about him, and he knows Emily is afraid of him from the way she looks at him, he doesn't mention Hannah because she doesn't mention him."

"I'm not afraid of him," Emily mutters.

"Look, Jason is my friend, a good friend who has been there for me the past few weeks, okay? Stop trying to bring him down for a crime he didn't commit," I stand up and gather my things, "I'll see you guys in class okay?" They nod and mutter their goodbyes, looking at each other in a way that I know they will continue this conversation after I'm gone. I walk out of the courtyard and towards my locker, feeling someone following behind me. When I reach the locker I turn to see Hannah on my tail and Jason not far behind her.

"Here, you forgot this," Hannah says, handing me her cover up and looking at the bruises. "Did he hurt you anywhere else?" Her eyes travel down a little in question but I shake my head. "Good."

"He'd be dead if he did," Jason appears next to Hannah and watches me apply makeup to the bruise. Hannah stiffens next to him but he doesn't take notice or ignores her. "I told you to put ice on it, not makeup."

"I iced it this morning," I lie to him, grabbing my books and placing them in my bag, I had actually been to busy talking to a therapist. I let out a little hiss when I try to pick up the bag and the strain hurts my wrist.

"Sure you did," Jason comments, grabbing the bag for me and slinging it over his shoulder, I give him a mock glare to which he just laughs at. "I'll carry this to your first class."

"I have my mom first hour, remember?" I remind him, trying to take my bag back. "She'd ask questions if you were walking me to my class."

Hannah, who had just been standing there in shock, takes my bag from Jason and holds it herself, surprising Jason that she managed to get it from him in a surprise attack and surprising me that she didn't take the surprise attack to slap Jason. "I'll carry it for you until we reach the doorway and then you can carry it to your seat so your mom doesn't ask questions."

"Okay, thanks, Han," I say, closing my lock and moving with her. "I'll see you later, Jason." He nods and watches us walk away, a curious look on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

"Mom needs you to go downstairs and help get dinner ready," I tell Mike from his doorway. He just continues to stare at his computer. "Mike."

"Close the door," he orders, then turns around when he doesn't hear a click. "I said get out!"

I walk into his room and try to se what is on his computer. "No. No, I'm not gonna get out. Mike, you need to let someone in." He closes his laptop while I walk into the room, but I still see the chat page. "And not some.. stranger online. Who are you even talking to?" Red Alerts fused in from the schools telling us to stay away from strangers online tart going off in my head, a movie they made us watch about a depressed teenager killing himself because his 'friend' online told him it would help playing back in my head.

"What's going on in here?" Mom walks in behind me as Mike shakes his head.

"Nobody invited her in," Mike points at me, still not turning around.

I roll my eyes and walk past mom. "I tried." I tell her, planning to tell her about the laptop if she doesn't get it from Mike now.

"Mike, turn off the computer and come downstairs."

"I'm not hungry."

"Did you even eat lunch?" She half way accuses.

"Who cares?" Mike asks angrily. "Just close the door, I'm in the middle of something."

"No, you're done, give me the-"

"What are you doing?." Mike grabs the laptop as Mom does and they start to do tug of war with it. "Let go!" Mike glares at our mom angrily, pulling then shoving the laptop towards her.

"Stop it- Ahh!" Mom falls against his nightstand and his her wrist hard on the corner. Mike doesn't say anything, but takes his computer and runs from the room while my mom tries to stand up.

"Mom." I say quietly, worried about her and not knowing what to do in this situation. "Are you okay?"

She manages to stand up and look at me, rubbing her wrist. "I'm okay. Um, when your father gets home. This did not happen." She shakes her head as she tells me to convince me to keep quiet.

"No mom-"

"I have to tell him I tripped down the stairs, and you're going to tell him the same thing."

"Mom you can't just let him-"

"No. He cannot know about this." Mom interrupts me, getting the look in her eyes that shows there is more to this story. "This did not happen. I'll take care of it." She walks around me and heads for the door. "I'm gonna go get some ice and you're going to set the table." I stand there in Mike's room with my hand to my stomach, trying to wrap my head around what I just saw.

* * *

" _Your brother just left my house, check on him when he gets home."_ I read the text from Jason, worried Mike snuck out while Mom and I had dinner. After the day I had with Mrs. Sullivan giving new amo to A, I need Mike to choose which hormonal teenager he is going to be. " _I'll call you later."_ Jason texts me before I can reply to his original text. I wait until I hear Mike in his room to go in there and check on him.

His door was open for once, and I could see him just sitting there, staring at his hands. I could see his back moving as he breathed, but then I heard him sniff. I walked into the room slowly, making a bit of noise so I don't scare him.

"Mike?" He turns around and glances at me, his eyes red around the edges and tears threatening to fall. "Hey," I say softly.

"Is mom going to be okay?" Mike asks just as softly. I sit down on his bed and nod.

"Yeah." He continues to look down, glancing at me and his hands, one tear dropping as his voice cracks.

"Am I?"

"Yes." I tell him, pulling him to me and hugging my little brother, as his silent tears his my shirt. We stay like that for a few minutes, Mike letting someone comfort him for the first time. "Jason said he talked to you." I say quietly, not wanting to scare Mike.

"I know, I told him he could." Mike pulls back and rubs his face. "And I'm telling you that you can tell mom and dad about the rest of the break ins. I'm ready to get some real help now." He gives me a reassuring smile. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Okay." I say, a bit blindsided, standing up and giving him one more hug. "I'm glad you're back, Mike."

"Me too."

As he goes into the bathroom, I head downstairs to talk to my parents.

* * *

" _The Doctor is out- A"_ I reread the text as I drive home with Spencer, all the terrible scenario's running through my head. Spencer has been silent since she offered to drive me home. I rode over with Hannah originally, but Hannah had been a little drunk when she picked me up so I accepted Spencer's offer.

"Aria," Spencer says, staring at the road. "I saw my dad barging out of Jason's house tonight."

"Spencer, I don't want to-"

"No Aria listen! Ali's grandmother changed her will to exclude Jason from it a week before Ali went missing, and Mrs. Dilaurentis had my dad change the date of the will so that Jason wasn't a top suspect, that's where he got all that money. Ali must have gone down to her grandmother's to convince her to change it, and then rubbed it in the face of Jason. That's why he killed her!"

"Spencer!" I yell at her as we come to a stop sign. "You're being ridiculous. Jason did not kill Alison!"

"The Dilaurentis has something on my family, Aria! My father won't even talk about Jason without flinching!" I shake my head, and open Spencer's car door while we are still at a stop. "Aria!" Spencer yells after me, but I run down the streets , turning the corner and taking off my heels so I can run faster. I cut through a couple of yards so Spencer doesn't see me when she goes home and bang on Jason's back door when I finally reach it.

"I told you to stay out of my yard!" I hear Jason yell. "Tell your family to leave me alone!" He throws something at the door that sounds like a plastic cup. I stop banging on the door but gently place my hand against it.

"Jason? It's me." I almost whisper to the door. I put my heels back on and try to clean myself up before he opens the door so he won't focus on why I'm at his house in the middle of the night but let me focus on who he thought I was.

"Aria?" He asks, opening the door and looking me over as I do the same to him. His eyes are red but there are no signs of tears, his hair is all messed up from him running his hands through it and his stance is stiff, but tired. "What's wrong?" I side step in and go into the kitchen, almost slipping on the diet coke that was in the cup he threw.

"I had a fight with Spencer, about what her dad told her about you. Is that who you thought I was?" I ask, grabbing paper towels and cleaning up the mess as Jason makes two new drinks.

"What did her dad tell her?"

"About your grandmother's will and his part in changing it." I drop the paper towels on the puddle and turn around to look at Jason. "Why didn't you tell me? I'm not going to judge you for something Ali tricked your grandmother into doing and your parents illegally did."

Jason crosses his arms and leans against the counter, two cups of diet coke next to him. "I didn't know until Spencer's dad came in here and started threatening me unless I left Spencer, you, and your friends alone. I made him tell me everything, what he told Spencer is only part of it."

I walk in front of him and take his hands. "What's the other part?"

He meets my gaze, his eyes begging me to understand as he says, "I can't tell you." I wrap my arms around his torso and rest my head above his heart.

"You don't need to tell me anything unless you want to," I whisper to him, giving him the treatment he has given me whenever I refuse to tell him something, kissing the spot where I hear his heart beating. "I know the Hastings are wrong about you. You aren't bad and you didn't hurt anyone."

"I don't remember any-"

"Jason," I pull back and look at him. "I know you, you loved Ali and you wouldn't hurt her, sober or otherwise." I put my hand up to his face and run my hands through his hair to get it to settle back down. "You didn't murder your sister, Jason." He doesn't say anything else, but pulls me back to his chest and holds me, I hold him when I start to feel him shaking. No tears drop on my head, and he stays quiet, but we hold each other in his kitchen until we've both calmed down. I help him clean up the mess he made, and then he drives me home, dropping me off a couple of houses down since I snuck out to meet the girls. He held my hand on the way home, the first time he's done that, but I don't say anything, just rub my thumb against his skin whenever I think he needs it. When I say goodbye, he just nods and reluctantly lets go of my hand, not driving away until he sees me close my window.


	13. Chapter 13

"Well they're in custody, but they haven't been booked. Yeah I understand that but.. I have to call you back." Mr. Hastings sees Jason walking down the hall, looking angry and worried, but when Jason sees him he almost rolls his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?" Mr. Hastings pushes Jason back when he tries to pass to see Aria.

"Don't." Jason says, moving away and trying to look past the man.

"You need to stay away from this."

"I think my sister would want me here." Jason taunts.

"Look, this isn't just about me. It's about you too."

"I didn't kill Ali."

"I never thought you did." Jason looks at him with a look of suspicion. "Jason I have watched you grow up, I've seen what you've been through, and I was honest with you last night because I thought it would help."

"You were honest because I didn't give you a choice. Why do you think I bought that house, huh? Ali wasn't the only one that knew how to get the truth out of people." Jason looks over Mr. Hastings shoulder at Mrs. Hastings talking to a police officer. "Does she know?"

"No, and she is not going to find out tonight. You need to leave."

"I'm not here for your family, I'm here for Aria. Now move." Mr. Hastings hesitates, so Jason pushes past him and walks up to Ella to figure out what's going on.

* * *

"Aria?" I hear Jason frantically ask over the phone.

"It's me, I'm home." I breathe out in relief, just happy that he was willing to answer the phone

"They let you go?"

"They had no evidence except that we had touched the shovel. They want to get us, but they have no proof." The line is quiet on the other end. "Jason, I didn't hurt Ali. We found the shovel-"

"You don't need to explain it to me, Aria, I trust you. I know you didn't kill my sister and you know I didn't." Jason reassures me. "What do you have to do?"

"Spencer's dad managed to get us only a month of community service, nothing over night and no bail to be paid." I explain.

"That's good." The line goes silent for a few breaths. "I have to go down to my grandmother's house this month."

"What, why?"

"My mom doesn't like to let it sit, but she won't sell it either, so I'm going to help her clean it up."

"The whole month?" I almost whine.

"I leave tomorrow."

"Do you have to go this month?" I know I sound selfish, but I need him right now.

"I need to get away right now, Aria. This thing between the Hastings and I is effecting me more than I wanted it to."

"What thing" Jason doesn't reply, staying silent. "Can I at least see you before you leave?"

"I want to see you too, but your parents aren't going to want me over at 11 at night."

"Then I'll be right over."

I hang up the phone before he can tell me no, grabbing my purse and shoes, and opening my window. My parents are already asleep and Mike won't say anything if he hears me. I make it to the ground and start jogging towards Jason's house, but before I reach the end of my block, he pulls up in his car and gets out. I rush over to him when I see him and throw my arms around his neck, pulling myself up so I can burry my head in his neck and breathe in his scent.

"Please don't leave," I whisper.

"Aria, I need a break from this town and the people in it that all seem to want something from me. First Garett and Jenna, then Peter." Jason shook his head while I pulled away.

"What did Garett and Jenna want?" Thousands of answers were going through my head and Jason could tell.

"Garett and I were in a club together back in high school and he wanted to talk about it the other night. He really just wanted to get me drunk and discuss the night Ali went missing, he tried to give me beer to but I made him drink it."

"Why would Garett want to discuss that night with you drunk?"

"Maybe he saw me and wants to know if I remember what he was doing, I don't know."

I think over that for a moment, then look back at Jason. "What about Mr. Hastings?"

"Aria, I want to get away so I don't have to talk about all of this, I need a break. If I could I would take you with me and tell you everything, but I can't."

"Why can't you tell me? Because I'm friends with Spencer?" I inquire and see its true when he makes a face. "I respect my friend's secrets, Jason, I'm not Ali who would hold it over your head. I want to help you through this."

My arms are still wrapped around his neck and his on my waist, but he lifts one of his hands and gently places it on the side of my face. "I want to tell you but-"

"Then tell me, Jason." I step back and take the hand that was on my face.

"It's complicated."

"I know."

Jason sighs, and looks around the road. "Let's go in my car," He continues to hold my hand and opens the door for me, then walks around to his side. "You can't tell Spencer, Aria, don't even tell her that you found out." I nod, taking his hand again because the car light makes Jason look paler than usual.

"I found letters between my mom and Peter in the box of Ali's things I gave you. I didn't tell you because I didn't know what they meant then. They were love letters. I don't know how Ali got a hold of them, but in the box was money also. I think Ali used what she figured out to get money from Peter Hastings, money to shut her up."

"What did she find out?" I whisper.

"Peter had an affair with my mom, while my mom was engaged to my dad and after Melissa was born," Jason doesn't say any more, just stares at me as I put the pieces together.

"Mr. Hastings is your father," I gasp. Jason nods, his features distraught. "I'm so sorry, Jason." I whisper, taking his other hand and moving closer to him.

"None of the other Hastings know, and my dad doesn't either." He leans his head back against the window. "Uh! I just wish this town would stop with the lying and secrets and let people choose how they want to deal with the truth."

"I know." Jason looks back at me. "I understand why you're leaving, I would too, I just wish I could go with you and help you through this."

"Just be here when I get back."

"I will," I whisper causing Jason to smile.

"You should probably get back, you need some sleep after today."

"I guess." We both get out of the car and Jason walks me to my front door. "My parents should be sound asleep now."

"I'll see you after community service."

"Yeah," we're both stalling, not wanting to be away from each other for a whole month. "Be safe okay?"

"I'll call you when I get down there," I nod, trying to come up with something else to say which makes Jason chuckle. "Good night, Aria." Jason leans forward and kisses me on the cheek, smiling at my shocked expression, before jogging back to his car.


	14. Chapter 14

"Wait, that's Ali," Spencer says, as the picture comes into focus.

"But, Ali already had a fake ID," I remember, reading the name on the card, Vivian Darkbloom.

"Why would Ali need a fake ID that didn't even look like her?" Emily questions.

* * *

"Wait, do you have to go too?" Spencer asks me, "I was hoping you could sleep over I thought maybe we could both use the company." I had told the girls most of the things between Jason and I, and they knew him being away and only calling me when he is on the road because his grandma's house has no service made me jittery, but I hadn't told Spencer about her dad. I didn't like spending alone time with her anymore because I would watch her and be able to pick out things both her and Jason do.

"I'd like that, but I made plans with Mike, we're trying to hangout more because his therapist and our parents think it's good for him. Thankfully he thinks so too." Spencer smiles in the way I know she isn't happy about it so I decide to try to cheer her up. "Have you talked to Toby?"

"No." She lets out, her eyes watering up like Jason but never letting the tears drop.

"I didn't see his truck outside."

"I drove it to his parents house, and sat in it for a few minutes, listening to the radio," Spencer slowly tries to get the words out.

"I'm so sorry," I tell her, wrapping my arms around her and hugging her.

* * *

"Hello?" I cautiously say over the phone when a random number calls me, no one answers so I repeat myself. "Hello, who is this?"

"God, it's good to hear your voice."

"Jason?!" I jump up from my bed in excitement, my textbook falling to the floor.

"Hey Aria,' I can hear the smile in his voice, he sounds more relaxed then he did when he last called.

"Are you on your way home? Are you done working?"

"I don't know," my doorbell rings. "You tell me." He hangs up then, and I run down the stairs, dropping my phone on the carpet and throwing the door open to see Jason Dilaurentis standing there in his brown jacket, jeans, and messed up hair.

I throw my arms around him without really taking him in, making him stagger back and laugh.

"God, I'm so happy you're back." I tell him, his arms going around my waist to help me be tall enough to have my arms around his shoulders. He buries his head in my neck.

"I missed you too."

"Jason?" I let go of Jason and turn around to see my mom turn the corner. "Hey it's good to see you," she reaches past me and offers her hand.

"Good to see you too, Ella. How's school?"

"Good, actually I need to talk to you about the counseling you were doing before you left, do you want to stay for dinner?" She asks, glancing at me as we both notice one of Jason's arms still wrapped around my waist.

"Sure, I wasn't going to cook tonight and I'm tired of takeout, let me go lock my car," he looks down at me as mom steps back around the corner. "I have some before and after pictures of the house in the car. I was going to show you later but I'll bring them in now if you want to see them?"

"Sure, I'm studying for a chem. test right now, so I'll bring my books down while you go to your car." He smiles and reluctantly lets me go back inside.

We spend the afternoon catching up, Jason telling me about all the things his mom made him do to the grandmother's house and how she wouldn't tell him to do it, she would text him. His mother and biological father both were refusing to take his calls so Jason finished his work up and came back here to force Spencer's dad to talk to him.

I told him about my childhood friend Gavin coming back from Portugal and Mike doing a lot better, how the school wasn't letting Emily swim, that Hannah's evil step sister is now in school with us, and Spencer had to stay away from Toby to keep him safe.

"Keep him safe from what? Is someone after Spencer?" Jason asks, leaning back on the couch and furrowing his eyebrows.

"The four of us tend to bring trouble wherever we go, Spencer just doesn't want Toby to get hurt more than he already has. We've all made sacrifices."

"Aria," Jason takes my hand and looks around to see if someone is in the room or listening. "Is someone trying to hurt you and your friends?" yes. yes. yes. yes.

I smile and shake my head. "No, of course not."

"Jason?" We turn around and see Mike walk down the stairs. During the past month he had gained some color back and smiled more, like he did now. "Hey,"

Jason stood up and did the typical man hug, clapping hands and clapping each other on the back. "Hey Mike, I heard you were doing better, I'm proud of you man."

"Thanks, Jason. How was Georgia?" Mike sits down on the couch where Jason was sitting, leaving Jason to sit on the other side of me, he takes advantage of this and puts his arm on the back of my spot to stretch out and play with my hair without my brother noticing.

"Warm and secluded, a much needed get away from this town." Mike nods in understanding. "Aria said you liked your new therapist?"

"Yeah, he doesn't look at me like a bobble-head,"

"Does he make mhmm?" Mike chuckles and shakes his head. "Good, well you can always come over to my house with your sister, just go through the door not window, okay?" Mike laughs at this and accepts the offer, then goes into the kitchen to help mom bring out the food.

"I never got to say thank you for helping him," I whisper, neither of us moving from our spot as Jason twirls my hair.

"You don't have to, I care about Mike." I lean my head back and rest it on his shoulder. "I care about your whole family."

"Why?" I continue to whisper.

"Because I care about you." I turn my head to look up at him and see him staring down at me. For the first time I can't decipher what his eyes are trying to tell me.

"Alright you two, dinner's ready," my mom calls from the dinning room. Jason untangles his hand from my hair and helps me stand up.

I sit next to my mom who always sits to the right of my dad at the head of the table, and Mike sits on his left, Jason taking a seat next to Mike and in front of me. As the food is served my dad asks Jason how his trip to Georgia went and he retells what he told me, leaving out why he needed to leave and the problems he is having with his mom. Once everyone is served, Mike, my dad and I begin eating as my mom tells Jason about how the students he talked to are doing and that she needs him to bring in some files tomorrow that the principal had been asking for.

"I'll stop by at lunch and drop it off at his office," Jason looks across the table at me. "Do you want me to bring you something from the Brew?" I blush which causes Mike to chuckle.

"No, don't worry about me, thank you though." I take a bite of roast beef and glance at my dad who was smirking at me.

"I'll take food," Mike says.

The rest of dinner was light hearted as my family caught up with Jason, whenever he would talk to me, I could feel my family's eyes on me, watching my every movement. Sometimes when Jason was talking to Mike, my parents would look at me too. I spent most of dinner looking down at my plate trying not to blush. Once it was over, Jason turned down staying for desert, saying he had to unpack and get to his house, none of us had realized coming to see me had been his first stop when he got back to Rosewood. I walked him out to his car when he finished saying goodbye to my family, exchanging numbers with my brother while simultaneously complimenting my mom on her cooking.

"You sure know how to charm my family," I tease while we walk down the sidewalk. "I think you can stop trying to win them over now."

"Maybe it's not them I'm trying to win over," Jason comments, stopping in front of his car and looking at me with the same look he gave me earlier, taking a step closer. "I wanted your parents to get to know me and see me around you."

"Why?" I whisper, taking a step forward too.

He looks down at me, his lips parted just barely and his eyes staring into mine. "To prove to you that you are something worth showing off, that no one should hide you away." Just like that Jason leaned down, placed his hand under my chin gently to tip my head up, and kissed me.

It wasn't forced, but it was no peck either. He gently held my face as my arms went around his neck to pull me closer to him. We moved our lips against each other to the same beat, fireworks going off behind my closed eyes. I start to smile against his lips, a warm feeling spreading through me and making my fingers tingle. Jason pulls away when he feels me smile and leans his forehead against mine, kissing my nose and grinning also.

"Wow," I whisper, and Jason laughs, making me bite my lip before he bends down and captures my lips again for a few moments more before pulling away and stepping away, taking my hand and grinning, his lights shining in the street light.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he squeezes my hand and opens his car door with his free hand.

"Okay," I say breathlessly, I let go of his hand, but he takes it back and pulls me towards him, pecking me on the lips and making me dizzy.

"I'll be the one with food."


	15. Chapter 15

"Thank you for taking the time to dropping these off for me, Mr. Dilaurentis." Principal Tamborelli says, standing up and taking the files from Jason.

"Please, call me Jason. And it didn't bother me, I was happy to help those kids." He readjusts the bags of food on his arm and makes it obvious he has somewhere to be.

"Yes, may I ask you about your relationship with some of the students?"

"I promised the kids I helped that their secrets were safe with me, sir, anything I thought needed to be told to their parents are in those files." Jason explains, not wanting to stay and chat with the corrupt principal.

"Yes, I mean your relationship with Ms. Montgomery."

"Aria?" Jason's voice makes Principal Tamborelli hesitate.

"Yes, the other teachers and students have seen you around campus with her and are beginning to talk. I want to make it clear-"

"I am not a teacher here," Jason interrupts, getting angry but trying to keep his cool because he knew this was going to happen. "I'm a volunteer, I am allowed to have a relationship with whomever I please. If you would like me to stop helping your students, for free, because you don't want me talking to certain other students, then I will. But until you can come up with a reason to have me banned from the school premises, I can come and visit the kids and still help them while continuing my relationship with Aria." He turns his back on the older man and opens the door. "Have a good day." Jason walks through the halls towards Aria's locker where she told him she would meet her. He sees her leaning against the locker looking around for him and glancing at her phone, when she glances back up he stands in front of her and she smiles.

* * *

"Hey, how was Principal Tamborelli?" I ask when I see Jason, taking the bags from him and walking towards the courtyard to eat lunch with the girls.

"He tried to tell me not to spend so much time with you," Jason grumbles, taking the bags back from me to carry them for me.

"He's not your boss," I comment bitterly, this was just what Ezra had warned me about, but not nearly as bad.

"I know, I told him so." I glance up at Jason but drops the conversation, wondering if he got angry with my principal. I asks him about his day and he about mine, when we reach the entrance to the courtyard, we both look up to find a spot to sit, I spot Jenna and Noel huddled in a corner and am about to suggest they sit in front of the school when Jason steps away from me.

"Spencer?" Jason walks up to his half sister, I follow him, surprised he is talking to her and wondering why.

"Hey." Spencer says, my only friend still worry around Jason because of her father, the rest of the girls have warmed up to my friendship with him. Though I haven't figured out what our relationship is now. Spencer glances at me then back to Jason. "What are you doing here?" She eyes the takeout bags in his hands and me. "Is this a date?"

"Jason was just dropping files off for the kids he was counseling and brought me food from the Brew," I answer before Jason can, not wanting this to be our first date, if we have one, but not wanting it to be awkward if he said yes and I said no.

"You were out of town right?" She asks, going into lawyer mode. I give her a look that she ignores.

"Yeah, I was in Georgia. We're still trying to fix up my grandmother's house. It needs a little work." Spencer nods, not seeming to buy it but if she needs evidence Jason has pictures. "Hey can you, uh, do me a favor?" I rock a little on my heels, having an idea of what's coming.

"Um, what do you need?" Spencer glances at me for heads up but I just shrug and act like I don't know anything.

"Give your father a message for me. Tell him he owes me a call," Jason develops his serious tone as he talks, the one that makes Spencer more suspicious.

"Why?"

"Just give him the message. I'm back and he can't keep dodging me." Jason and Spencer have a staring standoff, both trying to read the other one's expression, and whether Jason knows or not, they both have the same expressions on.

"Hey Jason!" We turn to see my mom jogging up to us, she glances at the food in Jason's hand and smirks at me. "Sorry to interrupt." She nods towards Spencer.

"That's okay, we we're done." Jason turns towards my mom while Spencer turns to me, mouthing "what?" and looking at Jason than back to me. I just shrug my shoulders and listen to my mom.

"-I'm still short on staff. Are you by any chance free?" My mom asks.

"I don't think so," Jason shakes his head, and glances down at me while I try to hide my chuckle. Jason would go crazy if he had to stay the night in this school listening to a bunch of teenagers talk about their problems.

"Well, it was worth a try," my mom turns to Spencer. " Please tell me your parents are still on board because I need bodies." Jason jerks a little next to me in surprise and looks at my mom and then Spencer.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Spencer nods.

"What's the event? Maybe I uh.. maybe I can be there." Jason doesn't meet my eyes as I glance up at him and we both don't meet Spencer's as she looks at Jason with raised eyebrows.

"Really?" My mom asks relieved.

"Yeah, I mean.. If you're desperate enough to ask me, then sure. Count me in." Jason chuckles a little, smiling like he does when he gets his ways and looks at Spencer. Spencer turns her head a little, questioning him, but smiles along as my mom explains to Jason what's going on tonight, Spencer excuses herself after a few minutes and goes inside to eat, Jason, my mom and I sit down so I can eat before the bell rings. My mom gets called away by another teacher a few minutes later and it's just Jason and I.

"You want to chaperone?" I ask, taking a bite of my bread and raising an eyebrow.

"Peter is going to talk to me whether he likes it or not," Jason answers, giving me a look not to question him.

"You already know, what you know, why do you need to talk to him?" I ask.

"To get him to tell Spencer, to get him to answer some more of my questions." I set down my food and meet his gaze.

"What questions?"

"Those letters I found? I found $15,000 in the same box, $5,000 in each envelop." His head his tilted to the side and one eyebrow is raised, he wants me to put the pieces together.

"Ali blackmailed Mr. Hastings into giving her money to stay quiet?" I whisper, my eyes wide as Jason nods. "So you want to ask Mr. Hastings if it's true, or something else?"

"It's true, I just need to talk to him about it. I need to talk to him about it all. He can't act like I'm not here the rest of my life anymore."

"What if it's not him Ali was blackmailing?" I ask, Ali in a brunette wig popping up in my mind.

"It is, Aria," Jason snaps at me, making me lean back a little. I narrow my eyes at him, and he does the same, in the back ground the bell rings.

"Thanks for the food," I snap at him, grabbing my backpack and standing up. I grab the bag that I had been throwing my trash in, and walk away.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey," Caleb says as I walk in behind him, I turn to the piano to see who is playing and feel a shiver go down my spine as I see Jenna playing. "Did you know she was going to be in this group?"

"No. If I did I would have given myself a fever this morning," I tell him, we move into the room to find a seat, and I'm suddenly thankful that Hannah chose a boyfriend that wasn't scared of anyone.

I get on my phone to check for any text messages from Jason, we hadn't talked since lunch, but we were both too stubborn to text the other one first. Caleb leans back in his chair and gets comfortable, crossing his arms and looking around the room to assess who we'll be staying with the rest of the night until we go to sleep. He was letting of the boy vibe of 'don't mess with me, or the girl I talk to or else,' to which I was thankful for. No one seemed to look at us or Jenna, but the three of us looked at each other a lot.

I was still on my phone texting Mike when Mrs. Hastings walks in, followed by Jason who looked smug until he saw me. "You've got to be kidding me." Jason smiles and nods at me, but I just turn and talk to Caleb.

"What you know that guy?"

"Yeah. It's Alison's brother, and my -friend." Caleb gives me a look that he's given to all four of us whenever he calls bullshit.

"Friend?"

"It's complicated, really complicated." I watch Jason stand in the corner of the room and gather materials. "We might be more, but we also fought today about - something big, and we haven't talked since."

Caleb chuckles. "One fight doesn't ruin relationships, Aria, especially if their new ones."

I look between Jenna and Jason and shake my head. "I can't do this." I move to get out of my chair but Caleb pushes me back down, I give him a look when I fall back down on my chair hard and glance back up to see Jason staring down Caleb.

"I don't think you have a choice, Aria." Caleb reminds me, he looks over to Jenna and I follow his stare then look at him when he talks again. "Besides, with everyone spilling their guts today, some of us might have a lot to say. I know I do." He leans back in his chair, his arms crossed, and we both watch Jenna.

A few minutes later we still hadn't started an activity and my phone goes off. Everyone looks at me, Caleb chuckling next to me. I bend down and grab my phone, saying sorry to Spencer's mom and glancing at Jason to see if he has his phone out. I look at the message take in a deep breath. " _Truth hurts sweetie, May hurt your new pal more than you -A."_ I look up at Jenna, thinking she was typing something in her purse, but she pulls out a pack of gum and no one else has their phone. A is everywhere.

Mrs. Hastings stands up and begins explaining the activity we were doing. It was simple and obviously didn't have much thought to it because if we were going to spill our secrets, we weren't going to write it down on something that you only needed a black light to read it with, people had backlight apps on their phones now.

"Jenna if you need any help, I can-"

"No thank you, I'll pass." Jenna interrupts, Caleb sits up in his chair and Jason raises an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid that's not an option. If you prefer Jason or if there is someone else you trust-" Jenna interrupts Mrs. Hastings again, causing Jason to stand up, Caleb and I just roll our eyes at her words.

"I don't trust anyone around here."

"Okay," Mrs. Hastings says, trying to figure out how to handle this blind girl. "Well, keep in mind that this day is about opening up to new possibilities and you'll be expected to-"

"To what?" Jenna asks, lifting up her head and looking to where she hears Mrs. Hastings. "To forgive all the classmates who've mistreated me?" She gives a humorless chuckle. "I'm not big on group hugs, Mrs. Hastings" I watch Caleb get a look of utter annoyance on his face and Jason narrowing his eyes. "I don't need a special flashlight to know what people around her are hiding. This school is filled with phonies and liars. They're everywhere."

"In what way have you been mistreated?" Mrs. Hastings asks, getting tired of Jenna but staying on protocol.

"How much time have you got?" Jenna laughs. "Oh, should I- should I start with the day that I was cornered in the girls' bathroom and smacked?"

Caleb leans over, "Is she talking about Hannah?" He asks angrily, I give him a look.

"Did you ever report this?"

"Well, she couldn't," Caleb starts, I grab onto his arm and try to pull him back.

"Wait, Caleb!" I whisper, he shakes me off and I see Jason in the corner of my eye narrow his eyes and step forward.

"No because if she had, she would have to admit that she threw the first punch. Isn't that right, Jenna?" Everyone turns to stare at Jenna as she fidgets in her seat. "So just to clarify, we are telling the whole truth today? Right, not just the part we want to remember? By the way this is Caleb speaking, in case you were confused." Caleb smirks and sits back in his chair, crossing his arms and staring down Jenna. I stare at him wide eyed and my mouth parted slightly in awe and fear. The hairs on my neck rise as I feel someone watching me so I turn around and meet Jason's eyes. He raises an eyebrow, but I turn away and stay quiet watching as he walks out to go get flashlights.

* * *

I run past the students heading to the cafeteria to watch a stupid movie, pushing my way towards the stairs that lead to the roof, hoping to find Caleb there and get him to stop working on A's phone. After what he said to Jenna in the room, he doesn't need more targets on his back. I push past students and teachers, almost not noticing it when I push past Jason until he calls out to me and I ignore him. I jog up the steps and open the door to the roof, my hair blowing in my face from the wind.

"Caleb," I call, hoping my voice will carry. "Caleb?" I call again. I bend down and move two bricks in front of the door to hold it open, then step out of the door way and look around the roof. "Caleb are you up here?" I say louder, walking around the corner to go look for him.

I walk around the roof, glancing over the side every now and again to make sure Hannah doesn't come out and tell me she found him. I continue calling for him, but when I look down into the courtyard I stop for a moment and hear Spencer talking to Jason. I don't want to eavesdrop on them, especially when I hear Spencer ask "Is my dad, your father too."

"Caleb?" I call again, then I hear the door close. "Hello?" I call, slowly walking back to the door, when I see it closed, I run up to it and start banging on it. "Damn it. Can anybody hear me? Can anyone please open this door." There is a loud thud on the roof, and my heart starts racing faster. "Who is that?" I ask. A shadow moves a few feet away from me and I do the first thing I can think of. "JASON!" I screech, running to the edge of the roof and screaming Spencer's name also. I look over the edge, and Jason and Spencer are standing up, and when Jason sees me, he runs past Spencer towards the stairs.

I hear footsteps heading towards me and run towards a latter leading up to the roof above the gym. I manage to climb almost to the top, where my hands are on the top lever before a hand clamps down on my leg and starts to pull me down. I scream out in shock and look down, I only glance a blue shirt, but the absents of a black suit and mask calms me down by a minuscule. "Let go of me!" I scream, trying to kick the arm of with my other leg without loosing my footing on the ladder. "Let go!"

"Where's your pal Caleb?" I look down and see Noel Kahn, Jenna's new watch dog, is the one trying to pull me off the latter.

"Get away from me!" I yell again, my voice cracking. I try to pull myself up, but Noel is too strong. "Help!" I scream.

I hear the sound of the door being thrown open. "Aria!" I hear Spencer yell, before the pressure on my calf is removed and Noel is on the floor, Jason tackles him and knocks him out with one punch. "Aria, are you okay?" Spencer tries to help me down but Jason steps in her way and grabs me by the waist and pulls me down, not allowing me to touch the ground as he holds me bridal style and looks me over.

"Are you okay?" He asks, my head is by his heart again and I can hear it beating as fast as mine. I nod my head and he gently sets me down, once I'm on the ground Spencer almost sends me to the floor as she hugs me and asks what happens.

"I was looking for Caleb, and Noel wanted to know where he was too," I explain, meeting Spencer's eyes, while Jason takes my hand and pulls me closer to him, positioning me so I'm against his chest. Spencer understands my look and stares at Noel.

"Caleb is the one that called Jenna out on lying right?" Jason asks, I nod while Spencer's eyes grow.

"We have to go find Caleb right now." Spencer hurries to the stairs with Jason and I behind her.

"He's in the classroom by the courtyard, I saw him turn on the lights when I was out there cooling down." Spencer nods, and says she will go get him, silently telling me to keep Jason away from her for the moment. "Are you sure you're okay?" Jason asks, running his hands over my arms where they have goosebumps and walking me towards the doors, kicking the bricks away and slamming the door behind him. I nod as we walk down the stairs. "You have got to stop doing this to me," he says when we reach the bottom.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, rubbing my wrists and staring at the ground. "For tonight and this afternoon."

"Don't be, I was a jerk," he lifts my chin up with his finger and kisses my forehead. "You were right when you said you brought trouble wherever you go."

"I know," I say, glancing back down at the floor.

"Hey, look at me." I glance up and see him bending down so we're eye level. He leans forward and kisses me. "I'm not going anywhere." I smile, tipping my head up to kiss him again, lifting my hand to cup his face.

"Spencer figured it out," I say when I pull away. Jason straightens up and nods.

"I don't know if she believes it, but I told her."

"Are you okay?" I run my finger along his jawline.

He closes his eyes at my delicate touch and shakes his head. "I don't know."

"It'll be okay, eventually." I whisper, removing my hand as he nods and opens his eyes, they look tired. "Go home, Jason. They don't need you here anymore and you need rest."

He looks like he is about to argue, but decides I'm right. "Let me walk you to where the room you're sleeping in and then I will."

I nod and slide my hand into his. We walk the halls in silence and when I meet up with Emily by her locker he says goodnight to me, kissing me gently on the cheek before heading home. Emily looked like she just caught her parents in the bedroom when I turned back around, but I ignored it for the moment and relayed what happened on the roof.


	17. Chapter 17

Spencer came over the next night, she hadn't been home yet, but each of us had spare clothes in each house for emergencies. We hadn't been able to talk since the incident on the roof, and neither of us were sure what the other one knew. As her friend, I wanted to support her with this big revelation about her father, but I knew she will be mad at me if she finds out I knew a whole month before her and never said anything except telling her not to think so badly about Jason.

When she arrived, we went straight to my room to talk, but when we got in there, I sat on my bed and she sat in my desk chair and we didn't talk. We talked about our day, about Caleb's laptop at the police station, about Hannah's crazy step-sister, and Maya being back, but we didn't talk about what we wanted to. After awhile, she had to go to get ready for Emily's swim team party, I managed to get out of spending the night hearing about times and strokes by going to the city with Mike but she had no excuse because she wasn't going home.

I walked her downstairs and to her car, telling her to tell Emily congratulations for me. Before she gets in the car she turns and looks at me, her eyes distant. "Do you know?" She asks, her voice pleading for the truth. I open my mouth to reply, but only manage to nod my head. She lets out a breath and nods while looking at the floor.

"I only found out recently, and Jason wanted to make your father tell you," I explain myself. I step forward and wrap my arms around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Spencer." She places her forehead on my shoulder.

"Did he tell you about the money?"

"Yeah."

She stays quiet for a moment. "Do you ever hate Alison? Really, really hate her for everything being her friend leads to." Spencer pulls away and wraps her arms around herself.

I shrug my shoulders and think about it before nodding. "I don't think Alison ever planned for this to happen to us, I mean think about all the lies she told us. Sometimes I think she lied just to practice, but if we had known everything we do now about Alison, A would have been after us a lot sooner than they were." Spencer only nods and gets in her car, driving in the direction of her house instead of Emily's.

* * *

"So, Jason will start coming around a lot like he was before, now that he is back, right?" Mike asks, we were walking back from the Arcade, he use to be able to stay in there for hours but he doesn't like it as much anymore and the loud atmosphere was making him jumpy so we are headed to find something to eat.

"Yeah, I guess." I give Mike a look as we cross the street. "Why?" Mike glances at me and smirks.

"Just waiting to hear you say that you're dating him."

"Uh!" I say, hitting him on the shoulder as Mike laughs at my surprised expression.

"Don't lie, Davis told me he saw him kiss you on Truth Up night."

My cheeks go red and I hit Mike again. "Davis needs to stop lurking around school!"

"So what, if you aren't dating is it like 'Friends with Benefits'?" Mike asks seriously, but when I hit him again and go completely red he laughs again.

"Ew no! Why do you even know what that is?" I ask, trying to shake the idea out of my head.

"There was a movie, Aria." We go inside a bakery and sit down to wait until it's time for mom to pick us up. "So you aren't dating?"

"I don't know," I sigh. Mike nods and doesn't ask anymore questions, not wanting to gossip but just wanting to check up on me.

* * *

Jason was in the driveway when Mom pulled in, she glanced at me and Mike snicker as I got out and walked over to him. Mike and Mom waved to Jason as they got out of the car but went inside. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask when I see he looks angry.

"Spencer doesn't think her dad was the one Alison was blackmailing," Jason explains.

"Why?"

"Because he told her," Jason rolls his eyes like he thinks that it's ironic Spencer would believe her dad.

"You don't believe him," I observe and he nods. "Why would he lie now? If Ali blackmailed him, why would he cover it up for her, especially when the secret is already out?" I say it slowly and thinking it over myself. I knew he wanted to think Peter Hastings paid Ali to keep quiet, but he also just wants to have more reason to be angry at him. Jason stays quiet and looks down the street, avoiding my eyes. I take his hand and smile. "Jason, it's alright to be mad at Mr. Hastings, you have every right to be, but you don't have to find more reason to be mad at him. Why do you need more reason to be mad at him?"

Jason leans back agains this car and shakes his head. "It would just make things easier." I nod and step forward, wrapping my arms around his torso and looking up at him.

"I know," He smiles down at me gratefully and I lean against his chest for a minute. "When Spencer told you she believed her dad, did you.. did you get upset?" I hear him take in a breath and feel him nod. I lean back and give him a small smile and a tilt of my head. "Jason, I've had a month to take in all this information, Spencer has had one day and it effects her much more than me. Don't you think you should try to start things off with your half sister on the right foot, try to fix what the parents have messed up?" He meets my gaze and shrugs, so I step out of his hold and give him a look which he tries to avoid. "Jason..."

"Do you know where she is?" I smile and rock onto my tip toes and kiss him.

* * *

"How'd you get the money so fast?" Emily asks, not comfortable with the situation again.

"Uh.. A relative gave it to me," Spencer says, turning around and putting her stuff in her locker, avoiding my eyes.

"What relative?" I ask, narrowing my eyes, she gives me a look to stay quiet.

"I promised I wouldn't say," She says, turning to look at Emily as I stare holes in her face.

"What time did Jonah say to meet him?" Emily asks me, I turn away from Spencer.

"Six, but um, look not all of us are gonna go. It's just me and Spencer, so we'll meet up with you afterwards." Emily and Hannah look upset, and Spencer seems nervous but doesn't say anything.

"Why just you two?" Hannah asks.

"Because I'm the face that he knows, and she's the bank," I nod towards her. "If we crowd him, he'll think something is up."

"Something is up. I mean we're gonna finally find out whose been torturing us since Ali's funeral, and hello, I kind of want to be there for that." Emily snaps, Spencer looks over her shoulder and gives Emily a look to shut up.

"Hey ladies," Mona says, walking up to Hannah.

"Hey," We say unenthusiastically.

* * *

I go over to Jason's after school, planning to hangout until Spencer is ready to meet Jonah. "Jason?" I call, walking around the house when he didn't answer the front door.

"Back here!" I hear him, I walk around the house and sit on his back porch to watch him work on the fence. "How was school?"

"Fine," I answer, looking over at Spencer's house when I see Melissa walk through their back yard and Spencer pull up and greet her. "Jason?" I ask, he looks up at my tone and raises an eye brow. "Did you give money to Spencer? $2,000 dollars?" I ask. He stands up and dusts himself off, walking over to me and leaning against the banister.

"Spencer seems to think Ali was afraid of someone, and she needed that money to figure out who." Jason pauses and looks away from me to Spencer's house. "I think Spencer is afraid of someone too, maybe the same person. I had to help her." I sigh and nod.

"Thank you," I tell him, he looks at me, scrunching his eyebrows together. "I'll make sure you get that money back.

"Don't worry about it." Jason goes back to work and I get out my homework, occasionally looking up to see if Spencer was ready and check on Jason. Spencer texts me to come over at 5:30, so I pack up my things and say goodbye to Jason, kissing him on his cleaner cheek. "Aria, wait," He says, catching my hand before I go into Spencer's arm. "If someone was trying to hurt you, would you tell me?" Jason asks. I swallow, and try to smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I lean over and kiss him again, before hurrying into Spencer's yard.


	18. Chapter 18

I didn't see Jason as much as I wanted the next few weeks, after Caleb finding the video proving Melissa was there the night Ali died and thinking their dad might have been blackmailed and lied, the $2,000 Spencer borrowed from Jason leading to a dead end, and A starting to branch out in who he/she/it tortures, I decided to get some space between Jason and I, I couldn't stand it if he got hurt and if he saw the gash in my calf he wouldn't accept an answer that I fell of a porch, even if it was true. It just wasn't my porch.

We were on another trail to find out what happened the night Alison disappeared, which included me talking to a pilot that taught Ali flying lessons, more things to learn about the dead girl. I was meeting him in the courtyard after school today, lying to Jason that I had too much homework to hangout with him. I had done a lot of lying lately, to everyone except Hannah, Emily, and Spencer, and I knew it was for everyone's safety, but when they figured out all the lies I told, they would be just as far away from me then if they knew the truth.

I wanted to be there for Jason and Spencer, but neither of them wanted to talk about their family issues, Jason wanting to move on and Spencer kept focusing all of her attention on her other sibling who was causing a lot more problems. Instead of Jason and I's relationship moving forward, it felt like we were farther apart, all because A finally figured out why Ezra wasn't in Rosewood as much and why I wasn't crying over Jackie and Ezra getting together. All it had to take to get me to back off from Jason was one text.

 _"What a pretty doll the brother is, if you keep playing with him you'll have to share ;) -A"_

The text was sent while I was laying on Jason's couch, resting after Emily cleaned up my wound, and that was the last time I was at his house, he had come over to my house, stopped me in the halls a few times, but all of those times I was distant on the outside and eventually he got the message and stopped coming around anymore. I still saw him, in the halls and around town, and every time he would look at me with those eyes, yearning to know what was wrong, and I would open my mouth to say hi, and then remember A is always watching and walk the other way, looking down at the ground so he doesn't catch sight of the tears filling my eyes.

The girls asked the moment they saw one of these interactions what happened between Jason and I, and all I had to do was show them the text for them to understand. Spencer and I started spending more nights together, both of us cursing A in all the ways we know how for making us stay away from the men that make us feel safe only so that she/he/it can make us feel even more afraid.

"I'll call you," Duncan tells me, I'm fine with meeting him again. When he told me he knew Vivian was Alison I had assumed he knew they found her body, now I was willing to give him time to process the information and collect his feelings. "The weekend you said she disappeared, I saw her that weekend." He tells me, before turning and leaving the courtyard. I stare after him, taking in that information, trying to figure out where he would have fit into that weekend, was he her ride back from Georgia?

"Aria?" I turn around and see Jason walking towards me, looking worried. He sits down before I can stand up and takes my hand to stop me.

"Jason, I have to go," I tell him, looking away from him and looking at all of the students still in the courtyard, any of them could spread the tale of Jason and I holding hands, and it could get back to A.

"Please, just stay for a moment." Jason pleads with me, trying to catch my eye, but I close my eyes and shake my head, holding my breath to help hold in the tears. "Just answer one question." I glance at him, my eyes pleading with him to let me go but he doesn't budge, but I remain half standing. "That man that just left, is he-"

"No." I answer immediately. "I just met him and he knew Alison so we were talking about her." His grip on my loosens, and I make my escape, looking back when I reach the door, meeting his ever present gaze, before turning the corner and leaving him again.

Once I'm out of his sight, I run down the halls and towards my getaway car. Spencer had offered to be my ride home after I talked to Duncan and when she saw me run out of the school with tears in my eyes she knew exactly what to do.

She got out of her car and caught me when I threw my arms around her and buried my head in her shoulder as I let my heart pour out of my eyes. "We'll get through this, Aria. We'll find A and take all of this out on them." I nod but don't let go, so she rubs my back and holds me. "We have to go, now." Spencer says, her tone no longer comforting. I look up from her shoulder and turn to the front doors of school to see Jason walking out, he looks up just in time to catch my eye, the distraught look on my face making him freeze for a moment before he is hurrying down the stairs to me. "Hurry," Spencer opens the door and gets in the drivers seat and starts the car, but I'm rooted to the spot so she has to get back out. "Aria, get in the car!" She orders me. "Think of A," she reminds me, loud enough that I know Jason hears as he watches me go into the car, stopping where we were parked to watch us drive away. "Do you want to go to my house?"

"No," I whisper.

"Let's get to Hannah's."

* * *

"Spencer. Emily." Spencer turns to see Jason walking towards them, both of them picturing Aria crying over not being able to see him.

"Hey, I'm so sorry I haven't called you back my reserves have really been depleted and-" Spencer tries to keep him from asking them about Aria, Emily keeping quiet and avoiding his eye.

"This isn't about-" he stops, both of us remembering that Emily didn't know about our connection. "I have some of Ali's old things. I was going to give them to Aria like last time, but she won't call me back."

"What kind of things?" Emily asks, avoiding staying on Aria too long.

"They're in a bag that was left in the house when we moved out. Your friend Maya said her family found them." Spencer had seen him talking to Maya the day after she found out about him being her brother.

"She said that they picked up some of Ali's things by accident," Emily explains.

"Maya dropped them off at the house," Jason tells her, watching Emily's countenance change.

"Maya did? Did you talk to her?" Emily asks, worried for her girlfriend who was missing.

"The bag was on the porch. Then I saw in the paper that she was missing, is that true?" he asks, looking worried for the girl that helped him.

"Yeah," Emily says sadly, but Spencer keeps moving on.

"So the bag has Ali's stuff in it?" She asks eagerly looking for information.

"Yeah, if you bring Aria over you can all look through it," Jason says, giving both of them a look, as they exchange one.

"Uh, Aria isn't really allowed to um-" Emily tries to stutter out an excuse. "Her parents have been strict lately so she can't come."

Jason narrows his eyes at Emily, remembering that she was the one most afraid of him, then looks at Spencer. "I heard what you told her yesterday." Jason tells her, and Spencer goes a little pale. "If this A person is keeping her from talking to me, I want to know who they are. Is it Fitz?"

"No." Emily and Spencer reply immediately.

"Who is A?" Jason asks. Emily and Spencer look at each other, but don't say anything. "Alright," Jason says, crossing his arms. "This is a small town, I'll find out eventually." He begins walking away, then turns around. "One text, and you can have the bag." Spencer and Emily stand their nervously as Jason walks away, knowing that Jason looking for A will only cause more problems for him and Aria.

Bzz** Ring** Emily and Spencer glance at each other before taking out their phones.

" _I wonder how far the brother will get if he is in a bag himself?_ "

* * *

"No." I almost yell, the girls all sitting around my bed, begging me to text Jason. "It's a bag of stuff. If there was something in their Maya's family would have seen it! A basically said if I text him they'll kill him! I won't." The three of them glance at each other and back to me.

"What if you write to him?" Hannah suggests, and we all look at her. "What? A said don't text him so write a letter."

"That's.. genius," Spencer says, giving Hannah a surprised look that she shrugs at.

Emily hands me a paper and pen, and they all stand up, like this was a group decision and it has been made. As they leave my room, I don't walk them out, only stare at the paper and my phone. I wish I could just text A back and ask if this was allowed, if I did this would Jason be hurt.

 _Jason,_

 _I can't text you, I can't call you, or see you, I shouldn't even be doing this. We need anything you have of Ali's, we think Ali might have left clues behind for who she was afraid of so please give the girls the bag._

 _A isn't someone to mess around with, Jason, leave them alone._

 _Stay safe,_

 _AM._

* * *

Jason dropped the bag off at Spencer's earlier in the day, Hannah had paid a freshman to walk into Jason's backyard through Spencer's and drop my letter off through the door. They hadn't texted me anything they had found, but when A sees them with the bag they'll know I contacted Jason. I was left pacing the floor, checking my phone every few seconds.

" _I smell a burning ken doll._ "

I don't need the signature to know who it was from. I drop my phone to the floor and grab my jacket, running to the car and screeching down the street to Jason's house. When I pull onto his street I see smoke pouring out of the kitchen windows. "No." I turn off the car and run to the house. "JASON!" I screech, running around the back house. "Jenna?" I ask, seeing Hannah and Spencer carrying Jenna out of the smoky room.

"Aria!" Spencer yells after me as her and Hannah get Jenna away from the fire. I run to the door but before I reach the back porch, the kitchen explodes and I'm thrown backwards, hitting my head on something.

I wake up, maybe a few seconds later after passing out. I stagger while I try to get up, hearing sirens in the distance but mainly only the ringing in my head. "Jason," I whisper, falling into a tree as I try to get to the door.

"Aria!" I hear Hannah yell, but I continue trying to get to the burning house. My eyes are blurred from the smoke coming out of the house, and the ringing in my head was getting louder.

"Jason!" I scream again, but arms wrap around me and Hannah is pulling me away from the house. "JASON!" I scream again, trying to get to the house, but in my hazed state Hannah pulls me back onto the street where Spencer had placed Jenna in my car, her head in her lap. If I had been more aware I would have seen how scared Spencer looked for her brother but I was to busy trying to find him. Hannah manages to put me in the passenger seat and tell me to calm down, driving us to the hospital just as the firefighters arrive. When we got to the hospital, they brought Jenna and I to the emergency room and knocked me out when I wouldn't stop asking for Jason and my blood pressure kept rising.

I woke up a few hours later, my eyes opening to stare at the dim florescent lights. I heard snoring that made me turn my head to see my dad asleep in the window, when I turned to look at him I finally noticed the wires attached to my arm and the tube around my nose to give me clean air. I turn the other way and see Jason sitting in a hospital chair next to me, watching me take in my surroundings.

"Jason," I breathe out, raising my hand to his face and looking him over. "You're alright," I gasp, not seeing any scratches or burns on him, he didn't even smell like smoke. Tears start falling as I realize how scared I was, and my hand starts shaking. He can feel my hand shaking and my heart rate rising from the machine above my head, so he takes my hand and kisses it.

"Of course I'm okay," he whispers.

"I thought you were in the house. I thought you were there when-" Jason stops me as I start getting myself worked up, standing up and placing a hand on my face and trailing down my face, something he use to do that always calmed me down.

"I wasn't home, I don't even know why Jenna was there." I lay back down and close my eyes. "Spencer said Jenna got a text and was let in. Was that A?" I open my eyes and give him a look. "I was suppose to be home tonight."

"You were suppose to be killed." I amend his statement. "I got a text from A that told me you were going to be burned, when I got to your house I tried to get inside but then the explosion went off."

Jason takes my hand so I stop talking. "I'm just happy you weren't hurt, your dad said you have a minor gash on your head from when you were flown back, but you only have third degree burns."

I swallow and nod. "It could have been worse."

"But it-"

"It was suppose to be worse, A wanted you dead tonight because I didn't keep my distance."

"I don't want you to keep your distance," Jason says angrily. "I want to be there for you and protect you from this A person."

"You can't." I tell him. "It's too dangerous."

"We'll figure it out." Jason holds my hand in both of his. "I won't let you go through this alone."

"Jason-"

"I want to help."

"Then stay here. Tonight stay with me and then tomorrow you keep your distance." I tell him, pulling his arms close. He doesn't agree, but sits on the bed and runs his fingers through my hair, lulling me back to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Jason followed what I told him to do, and he stayed the night at the hospital, talking to me whenever I woke up. The last time I fell asleep, sometime around four in the morning, he kissed me goodnight, and when I woke up it was my dad sitting next to me and he told me he didn't know what time Jason left.

Once I left the hospital, we kept finding trails to A, that led to dead ends, first the red coat, then the doll hospital, but none of them got us any closer to our stalker. It was starting to feel like searching for A and Ali's killer was not something to be done at the same time, and with Garett in custody after Jenna giving back the fifth page of Ali's autopsy report, we were focusing on A. We just didn't have anywhere to look, but A was getting bored of their own game.

"A wants to play hide & seek," Emily says, all of us opening an invitation sent by A to a masquerade ball.

"Be there when the clock strikes midnight," I read the note in my invitation. Spencer gets up and walks towards the window, staring out at the barn where her sister, our top suspect, was staying.

"Hide & seek was my favorite game with Melissa, you wanna know why?" Spencer says, then turns around and smirks at us. "Because I always won."

* * *

"Who are you going to take to the ball?" Spencer asks me on the ride home, Emily and Hannah are asleep in the back, none of us having gotten any sleep last night.

"No one, if this ball is A's way at playing with us I don't want anyone I care about there."

"So you didn't tell Jason about the dance?" She asks, sounding a bit nervous.

"I haven't talked to him since the night at the hospital, that's what we agreed on." Spencer watches the road, ignoring me watching her. "What'd you do, Spencer?" I ask.

"He was just really upset about not being able to see you, and we try to keep in touch despite my parents, and I told him you were having a rough time and-"

"You shouldn't be talking to him either. A hasn't said anything about you being his brother so they don't know yet. If they find out that's more reason to go after him," I explain to her, knowing she understands this too.

"I told him about the ball, not the A part, but the masquerade part. He said he wasn't going to risk it for your sake, but I think if you talk to him-"

"I don't want him there, Spencer," I shoot her idea down, feeling like Toby's absences and my close proximity with her half brother has made her too much of a romantic. "If A is going to be messing with us the whole night, I want him far away from there."

"I understand."

* * *

The four of us walk down the steps, Spencer in a yellow dress and black mask, Emily in a blue dress and blue mask, and Hannah in a white dress and gold mask. I was wearing a red dress, and black mask that started to lace once it went past my cheek bones. Everyone in the room was wearing masks, some only covering their cheekbones, other half their faces and some the whole faces.

"This is a perfect place for A to hide," I whisper, looking at all of the masks below us as we descend into the party, anyone from the town and our past could be here tonight.

"Where was Melissa when you left?" Hannah asks Spencer.

"Curled up on the couch in her pajamas."

"We have three hours to find out who A is, before A finds us," Emily says.

"We all still agree, right?" I say as we enter the crowd. "No matter what happens at midnight, we stick together and we are not giving up that phone."

"That's four against one. I like those odds," Hannah adds. But it's always been four against one and we're still in this mess.

"Should we split up and look around?" Spencer asks.

"None of us have dates, so.." Emily comments, so we all disperse into the crowd, unsure what we're looking for but looking all the same.

A few minutes later, while I'm up on a balcony looking over the crowd and I can see Spencer talking to Mona, my phone buzzes in my purse. I take it out and read the text, a warm feeling going through me as I look around the room, trying to see through the masks to find him. I walk down the stairs and go into the crowd, looking for the light brown hair and gorgeous green eyes. As I walk past a set of fake trees, a hand wraps around my wrist, making me turn around and raise my hand out of reflex, but he has faster reflexes and grabs my other hand, letting both of them go and looking me up and down.

"Jason," I breathe, he was wearing a simple suit with a black mask that looked like metal and a crown at the top.

"I tried to stay away, but the thought of you here, looking this beautiful," He looks me up and down, wearing a simple smile then meets my eyes again. "I couldn't." He leans forward and brushes his lips against mine. "I missed you," Jason whispers.

I place my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. "I missed you too." He pulls away and takes my hand.

"Dance with me," he asks, already leading me out onto the dance floor. We sway to the music for a few songs, not noticing other's around us or what song is playing, just taking in the night and allowing us to spend time together. "Aria," Jason whispers after two songs. I look up and smile at him, blissfully happy. "I'm not going to stay away anymore. I tried and it only hurt us both." He waits for me to argue, to be the voice of reason, but I just place my head back on his heart beat and move my arms around his neck. "I'll protect you, whatever happens." I feel him move to kiss the top of my head like he always did, so I move my head and capture his lips before he can.

"Does this count as our first date?" I ask when he pulls away with a big smile on his face.

"Only if you want it to be," he replies, kissing me again and then going back to dancing.

"Aria!" Hannah pulls me away from Jason, which causes Jason's grip to tighten around my waist and pull me back. "Sorry Jason, but we have to take her and talk to her." Hannah says, locking on to my hand and pulling me, but I snatch my hand back and give her a look to be patient.

"I'll come and find you later, or I'll call you. Okay?" I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him, kissing his neck and then his lips.

"Okay." Jason says reluctantly.

* * *

"You almost killed Hannah." I pick up my FaceTime call from Spencer and hear that when it connects, we all gasp as we see Mona in A's costume. "She's my friend. I thought she was your friend too." Hannah leans over my shoulder and whimpers as Mona speaks.

"It's easier to forgive an enemy than it is to forgive a friend."

"It's Mona," Emily whispers in shock. Hannah just shakes her head, in slight denial.

"How did you do it. How could you be everywhere? You were always one step ahead of us." Spencer asks.

"You're not the only genius in this car." Mona turns to Spencer. "You bitches underestimated me."

"You're never gonna make it to Lookout Point if you don't slow down," Spencer says. cluing us in so we don't helplessly watch her get killed by A.

"They're going to Lookout Point, I know a short cut. Come on." I turn off my phone and Emily and I start hurrying away until I notice Hannah isn't behind us. "Hannah."

"Mona is A." Hannah brings me back to reality as I remember Mona wasn't an annoying bitch to Hannah, she was another one of Hannah's best friends. I can't comfort her now though.

"Come on," I take her hand like she had done me and we run out of the ball. When we get to Hannah's car she takes the keys, snapping out of her shock and going into complete anger mode.

We drive at top speed to meet Mona and Spencer at Lookout Point. The car is silent except for me telling Hannah the shortcut, but once she knows where she is gong she tells me to shut up and she drives in silence. I don't know what's going through her mind, but when we get to lookout point, and see Mona chasing after Spencer, Hannah doesn't slow down.

"Hannah! Hannah stop! Hannah!" Emily and I shout, keeping her from running over Mona.

There is a moment of silent and then Mona gives a very animalistic scream and runs after Spencer. Spencer runs away from Mona but Mona tackles her to the ground, clawing at her. We get out of the car as fast as we can and hurry to Spencer. "Get up!" Mona orders Spencer, trying to keep the upper hand and use Spencer as a hostage, but when Spencer gets pushed up against a tree, she manages to push Mona off of her as Mona goes for her face with her manicured claws. Mona grabs onto the tree when she gets pushed off, her feet dangling over the edge. Spencer grabs onto Mona's arm and tries to pull her back up, but Mona slips from her grasp and falls over the edge.

"Mona!" Spencer screams. "Oh my god!"

We reach Spencer as she backs away from the edge, holding her for a moment as her adrenaline continues to push her forward. When Hannah looks down at Mona she starts shaking and we support her. Amidst the supporting, screaming, shaking, and crying, eventually Emily called 911 and the police and ambulance arrived. The police tried to ask us questions, but when they started getting the same answers over and over again they let us alone for a while as blankets were wrapped around us and Spencer's face where Mona clawed at her and slapped her was looked at.

We had to walk home from the police station. Spencer and Hannah didn't want to touch their cars until they had been cleaned, and Spencer had turned down the offer from Toby to stay at his house, the four of us needed to be alone. Dr. Sullivan had showed up and stayed with us until we walked home, helping us calm down from our adrenaline rush and realize that the torture of A was over. It was a hard thought to grasp.

"Are you gonna be okay at home tonight?" I ask Hannah, she had been the one most out of it since we left the dance.

"I know Mona's A, but I just keep seeing that faceless person in a black hoodie," Hannah says allowed what we were all thinking.

"Let's sleep at my house," Emily says, a siren getting louder in the back ground. "My mom will be thrilled to have a reason to cook."

"That sounds like old times." Spencer comments, just as a siren screams past us, heading in the same direction as us. The four of us look at each other, the eerie feeling settling back. We turn the corner and see police and an ambulance in front of Emily's house. Hannah, Spencer, and I gasp as Emily runs to her house, pushing past the crowd and getting to her mom who was staring hopelessly at her house. We reach them quickly after, quick enough to hear Emily's mom's explanation.

"They found a body, they think it's Maya." Emily stumbles backwards, falling into the three of us as we help her stand as her mouth opens and she tries to take breaths as sobs start racking her body. The police carry out a body bag in front of her, and Emily falls completely on Hannah and I, screaming Maya's name and sobbing in between each breath. We were all crying, but focusing on keeping Emily from running after the coroner and Maya's body.

Nothing prepared us for this night, no one could have told us when we were growing up that everything we did, good or bad, led to something bigger. Everything was connected, and now we know who A is but we're back to the beginning.


	20. Chapter 20

The cellphone rings in the morning and Spencer goes to pick it up, her mom telling the story as the news picks up on Alison's lost body. Spencer asks the appropriate questions, trying to find out our real question. Did anyone see us? When she hangs up the phone she turns around and explains to us.

"The caretaker called it in this morning. The place is crawling with reporters, but the police don't have any leads." Some weight comes off my shoulders, but I'm still feel guilty.

"So we're okay, nobody saw us," I exhale.

"Yeah." I lean back in the couch and try to relax.

"I'm so sorry guys. This is all my fault." Emily says, still a bit drunk from last night and whatever was in her drink.

"No one's blaming you," Hannah tells her.

"Yeah Em, somebody took you there to make it look like you dug up Ali's body." Spencer tries to make her feel better.

"And I made it so easy. If I wasn't so wasted-"

"Em. Last night never happened." Hannah says, saying it slow so it gets in our heads.

"Are we sure about that? We could still go to the police," I offer, not wanting to go down this road again.

"We tampered with the evidence," Spencer shakes her head. "Last night we roasted marshmallows, and talked about senior year and went to bed early."

I look to Emily who was staring at the floor. "Em?"

"Last night never happened." My phone starts to ring and for the first time in a long time all of the girls jump at the sound.

I get out my phone and see Jason's smiling face staring back at me instead of a blocked number. "It's just Jason." I stand up and answer the phone walking away from the girls a little even though they'll still listen.

"Jason?" I ask, not sure if he has seen the news yet and what his reaction to it is.

"Have you seen it?" Jason grounds out.

"Spencer's mom called us, we're at the lake house and haven't seen the news but we've heard about it." I explain, turning my back to the girls. "Are you okay?"

"They stole her body." Jason says in monotone, I turn around and meet Spencer's gaze and shake my head. Jason was not okay. In the back ground I hear glass being thrown against the wall, which makes me wince.

I grab my purse and wave goodbye to the girls as I run out to my car and start driving back to Rosewood. "I'll be there in 20 minutes, Jason. Just stay on the phone, okay?" I ask him, hoping the glass he threw was just a fancy cup and not a beer bottle.

"Who would do this? A is locked up at Radley and Garett is in jail, is this someone's idea of being funny? Are they going to use it as blackmail?" Jason starts asking a million questions that I can't answer, getting angrier and angrier. By the time I reach his house he hung up on me and I can't hear him inside, though I don't know if him being quiet is a good thing.

The front door was partly ajar so I walk in and call his name. "In here." I run into the kitchen and almost fall when I slip on liquid on the floor.

"Woah!" Jason catches me and helps me onto the counter. "Sorry, I haven't wanted to clean it up yet." I look down on the floor, and see glass and bubbly liquid covering most of his new tiles. The increasingly familiar smell of liquor hits my nose and I look at Jason with a worried expression.

"Jason-" I start, but he interrupts me.

"There was a six pack on the back porch when I woke up today, with a note saying I would need it. I turned the news on and when I saw what happened I got angry." I continue to look at him , trying to tell if the smell was coming from him and the floor or only the floor. "I didn't drink any of it, Aria," Jason promises taking my hand and laying his head on my shoulder, moving in between my legs so he can lean against the counter too.

"I'm so sorry, Jason," I whisper, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "They'll catch whoever did this." Jason doesn't say anything, we just stand there holding each other for a few minutes until the smell of liquor starts to give us a headache and we clean it up. "I'll get the mop."

"No, this is my mess," Jason stops me from helping. "I'll clean up in here and in the backyard, you can go into my room and go to sleep if you want."

"The backyard?" I question, glancing out the window.

"I had kicked the six pack when I read the note, the mess in here is just from the bottles that didn't explode in the back yard," Jason explains, sounding ashamed of his temper. I raise my hand to his face and kiss him lightly.

"Someone was trying to get you drunk and you were strong enough to stay away. Don't be ashamed of that." I follow what he tells me and go upstairs to take a nap in his bed.

* * *

"Aria!" I jolt awake when I hear Jason yell my name, and then become aware of him shaking me trying to wake me up. I sit up straight and look around the room, my heart racing as the image of Mona laughing over Alison's dead body still burned into my head. Jason's arms wrap around me and I'm pulled to his chest. "I thought you said the nightmares were over?" Jason whispered, brushing my hair out of my face and leaning against the wall next to his bed.

"I thought they were," I whisper, shaking and trying to catch my breath.

"You're safe Aria," Jason assures me, tilting my chin up so I'll look at him. "A can't hurt us anymore."

"Are you sure?" I ask, my voice cracking slightly as tears fill my eyes and I continue to shake. "Someone worse could steal the game from Mona and be the one behind Alison's stolen body, what if a new A-"

"Aria," Jason stops me, pulling me back against his chest and rocking us. "We can't live in a constant fear of the what if's. Mona is in a catatonic state at Radley and can't get out. There is no one else except the ten year olds that think they're funny." I give a small smile at all of the ridiculous texts I've shown Jason over the summer.

The girls and I had such a filled summer that we didn't see much of each other until last night, but since Jason owns part of his father's company, he took off most of the summer and we took the time to let our relationship mature. My family was thrilled the first night Jason showed up at the door to take me into town on our official date. Mike had made fun of me as I left and the moment I returned while my mom focused on keeping my dad from giving Jason the talk; Jason had taken it all amazingly. Over the summer we learned more about each other, like Jason didn't like roses so he always gave me big and bright flowers or that Jason liked to watch action movies when he has a bad day but when he has a good day he watches classic movies and only watches Horrors in October, and had he an imaginary friend named Charlie when he was a kid but his father made Charlie 'go away' when he thought he was too old to have imaginary friends. It was a summer that had no lies, I told him everything A did to all of us, and what we had to do to protect ourselves, and he listened without judgment. We didn't have any lies, but now I have to lie about last night and we're back to the beginning.

* * *

I go into the bathroom while Spencer and Hannah finish their registrations, Emily was still MIA and wanting her space to deal with the event of last night and Maya's death. The stall I go into has a bad lock and won't open properly. The door to the bathroom slams open while I mess with the lock.

"Hello?" I ask, but no one replies even though I hear footsteps. I peak through the crack and see a black outfit pass by my stall and I can hear my heart start racing faster. The footsteps stop in front of my stall and I can see black leather boots. "HELP!" I scream, backing against the wall and watching the boots walk away.

I bust out of the stall and run to the other side of the bathroom and fall to the floor, my chest feeling like it's caving in, my breath was shallow and I couldn't stop shaking.

"Aria!" Hannah yells as she and Spencer run into the bathroom and Hannah pulls me into a hug.

"I had a panic attack," I croak. "I thought I saw A."

"No it couldn't have been, A is locked up at a loony bin," Spencer tells me, but I know this, Jason said the same thing.

"I know what I saw. I saw the black hoodie and boots but not the face. Mona was smart she could just be faking it so she doesn't get arrested." I was still shaking and tears were gaining in my eyes. "I saw A. I know A is back." A tear escapes so Hannah pulls me up and tries to get me to calm down but their words keep making me more frantic.

Finally Spencer gets out her phone and calls Jason, who was already headed to school to bring me lunch. He arrives a few minutes later and busts into the bathroom, ignoring the rules and manners about boys being in the girl's bathroom. Hannah and Spencer go outside to guard the door until I'm more composed. Jason doesn't ask what happens until after we've left school and I've stopped shaking, but when I tell him he says the same things as this morning. I don't care what the girls and him believe though, I know my instincts and I know A is back.

* * *

"You're mom thinks I'm a nut basket case," Emily says as we walk out of my mom's classroom, referring to yesterday's freakout when A managed to slip a necklace into Emily's bag that seemed to have real or fake bones in it. A wasn't kidding when they sent us the text " _Mona played with dolls, I play with body parts._ "

"My mom loves you, Em. She knows everything that you've been through." I make Emily feel better, something we've all been trying to do since Emily has decided to hold all of the blame for the evidence A has on us being there the night Alison's body was stolen.

"Could she spread the love around the faculty room? I have to take four make up exams or I'll fail eleventh grade." Emily complains.

"I'll help you study for them," Spencer offers. "I've taken them all."

"You're gonna get through this." I say, I turn a little to look down the hall but catch sight of a blonde head. Emily and Spencer follow my gaze when I don't look away.

"Who is that?" Emily asks, catching on to my sudden change of atmosphere.

"Meredith." I say through clenched teeth.

"The Meredith?" Emily asks.

"Wait, that's your dad's _Meredith_? That's the skank you and Ali caught him lip-locking in the car?" Spencer puts in perfect words.

"If my mom sees her here..." I shake my head and glare at the bitch. "What's she doing here?" I demand, Meredith turns away from the teacher she was talking to and I walk up to her, feeling braver than usual. "Excuse me." I bite out. "Are you looking for someone?" I sneer, Meredith just smirks when she sees me.

"Hello, Aria. I forgot you were still a student here." Meredith sneers back, looking at me the way Jackie use to.

"Yeah I am. What are you doing here?"

"I'm applying for an open teacher position," she answers, straightening up like that makes her the shit. "Oh don't worry hun, I won't put you down as a reference." She smirks and then walks away.

"Bitch," Spencer mutters under her breath.

"Isn't your mom moving out again?" Emily asks.

"Her and my dad are getting a divorce, it's mutual and Mike and I agree it's for the best because they don't agree on anything and the only time they aren't fighting is when we are in the room." I explain, not as torn up about is as I was the first time the split up.


	21. Chapter 21

"She asked if I was getting the texts again," Hannah tells us in the girls bathroom, all of us recounting what happened the previous night.

"That's all she said?" I clarify.

"Isn't that enough?" Emily asks.

"No. That's not enough," Spencer says like that's crazy. "Okay, Hannah you have to go back there. Alone."

"It's not so easy. Caleb is all over me right now."

"I don't need to know that," Spencer half jokes.

"Well Caleb's not finding dug up jewelry in his locker," I start. "Who's earring did Ali find in my dad's couch?"

"Okay one question at a time." Spencer tries to slow this down.

"Wait you're not gonna ask your mom why she is suddenly Garett's lawyer? I mean, seriously Spencer, what is that?"

"He probably told her it's time to lock Jenna up," Emily says, finally stopping the pacing. "She was driving that car that night, I remembered."

"Yeah we believe you, Emily. But honestly, I don't think you remember anything clearly from that night. Alright, you kept calling me Arlene." I say seriously, not wanting to put down Emily but needing us all to take what she says with a grain of salt.

"Guys she can see. She's probably on Mona's payroll."

"Mona doesn't have any cash," Hannah defends again. "They don't even allow her to have floss." The bell rings and Spencer grabs her bag, all of us needing to get to class os we don't get a detention for being late all of the time. We walk out the door then Spencer pushes us back in. "She's coming in here. Jenna's coming in here. Where's the earing?"

"What?"

"Give me the earing I have an idea." I fish out the earring that is not Meredith's.

"Ooh, Do I get to slap her again?" Hannah asks excitedly, Spencer shoots down that idea and takes the earring and places it on the sinks where anyone that could see would notice it. "Get in the stalls!"

We all pair up into a stall and watch as Jenna walks into the bathroom and rinses out her water bottle. We basically hold our breaths, keeping silent and holding the doors closed as we watch through he cracks, looking for proof that Jenna's surgery worked and she can in fact see. Jenna rinses out the water bottle and while she is putting the the bottle in her bag I can tell she caught sight of the earring because she pauses. Once the bottle is in her bad she picks up the earring and raises it up to her eye, taking down her sunglasses so we can watch her eyes follow it. Once she was done examining it, she put it back where she found it and left the bathroom.

"You know what? That is it. I'm going in for way more than a slap!" Hannah almost yells as we exit the stalls.

"Hannah stop." Spencer orders.

"Stop why?"!" Hannah yells, fed up like the rest of us with this bullshit. Spencer turns to me to speak logically but I was just as pissed.

"Don't look at me. I'm ready to hang a sign that says 'BITCH CAN SEE!'." I tell her, completely serious.

"Guys, she doesn't know that we know," Spencer tries to explain.

"She will in a minute," Emily snaps, and in my mind I was picturing Hannah holding Jenna down while Emily threw the punches.

"No. We don't let her know that we know. Not yet." Spencer says, finally showing she is mad too. "We can use this. And we will."

* * *

"Are you okay?" Jason squeezes my shoulder, and I realize the movie must have ended a few minutes ago. I sit up and look around, I wasn't even sure what movie we had been watching.

"Yeah, sorry." I get up and walk into his kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and lifting myself onto his counter to sit as he walks in looking worried.

"What's wrong, Aria?" Jason asks, putting down my drink and taking my hands. "Did you have another panic attack today?"

"No, I'm just distracted that's all." I smile at him but he doesn't smile back.

"What's distracting you?"

"I'm going to Jenna's house tomorrow to help her practice for some performance." I tell him, cringing at the thought.

"Blind Jenna?" Jason clarifies, making me chuckle at his bluntness. "If you don't want to go, then don't go."

"I want to help her and-" I stop, and take a drink of my water again, but Jason takes it away again and crosses his arms.

"And what?" I pause and think about it. Who would Jason tell? And if A is listening they already know, but if Jenna is A she can't know that I know.

I bite my lip and pull on his hand so he leans closer, I lean by his head and whisper. "Jenna doesn't know that we know she can see."

"What?" Jason jerks back, but I pull him back and start explaining the earring incident, leaving out that the earring was in his sister's casket and was returned to me by A. When I'm finished he watches me with narrowed eyes and leans against the fridge. "So you're going over there to look for the other one?" I nod. "And if she finds out?"

"Emily lives just down the street." I answer, probably overestimating my getaway abilities but I might as well practice them if this A is going to stick around.

"Or I could be parked outside," Jason states. I raise an eyebrow and hop down from the counter to take his hands. "I can be your getaway car."

I laugh at the thought of Jason in one of his father's black rental cars but turn the idea down. "I'm meeting the girls at Emily's afterwards."

"Okay, call me later to tell me what happens."

"Of course,"

I lean up and peck Jason on the lips as the news starts talking about politics instead of Rosewood. "I think normal seniors only watch the news for assignments."

"You aren't a normal senior," Jason whispers, moving my hair and kissing my neck. "That's what I like about you." I chuckle and lean my head back against the couch, the news turning to background noise.

"Garrett Reynolds, the top suspect for Alison Dilaurentis murder and in custody of the Rosewood Police has gained a new lawyer," The news was say. Jason jerks a little when he hears his sister's name, still on edge about the missing body. He pulls away and leans onto his knees to watch the news. I move closer to him and rub his back, leaning my head on his shoulder as we listen to the newest change in the investigation. "One of the top defense attorney in the state Veronica Hastings, has taken Reynolds case for free."

"What!?" Jason roared, standing up fast and throwing the pillow he was leaning back on. "Is this some way of getting back at me?!" Jason turns to me, noticing my expression and calming down a smudge but still looking like he needs to break something. "I'm going over there." He grabs his jacket and heads for the back door but I run into the kitchen and stop him.

"No, Jason stop. It's eleven at night. You can't just go to the Hastings house and yell at Spencer's mother."

"To hell I can't!" Jason yells at me, trying to reach the doorknob. I place my body in front of it, both of us knowing he could move me if he wanted to but he wouldn't. "He murdered my sister!"

"I know!" I shout back, surprising both of us. "I know." I start over, speaking quieter. "I don't know why Mrs. Hastings is doing this for Melissa but I know if you go-"

"For Melissa?" Jason catches, narrowing his eyes. "Did Melissa date Garrett and now Veronica is doing this for her?"

"I don't know," I say, all the truths and lies getting jumbled in my head. "Spencer said Garett use to take Melissa to the hospital for her ultra sounds."

Jason sneers and shakes his head, turning away from the door and walking back into the living room. "That family is full of whispered conversations and hushed up events. I'm sick of it." I walk into the room and watch him sit down on the couch again and put his head in his hands. I walk over and sit down next to him, kissing his shoulder before leaning on him and rubbing his knee. "I'll call in the morning, but them not answering didn't stop me last time and it won't stop me this time."

"I understand," I whisper, turning the news off and taking Jason's hands. "I'm sorry everyone in this town makes your life harder."

"Not everybody." He glances at me and manages a half smile. "I'm sorry I scared you." He looks down at our intwined hands, ashamed of what he saw in my eyes a moment ago.

"Don't be, you have every right to be mad about this. I'm glad you're comfortable enough around me to show those feelings." I lift his face up and kiss him lightly on the lips.

"You're the only one that can calm me down from those emotions." Jason pulls on my arms and lets me curl up against his chest and listen to his heart beat. "Thank you."

"For?" I close my eyes and focus on his heartbeat.

"Being you." He kisses the top of my head as I chuckle and leans back against the couch.

* * *

"Okay," I say as Spencer and Hannah fight over the last piece of the brownie. "Do we really believe Jenna was out for a joy ride that night?"

"Or was her plan to take Emily to Ali's grave all alone." Spencer accuses, letting Hannah have the brownie.

"Seems to me like she was scared of someone," Emily admits to believing Jenna's story.

"And it seemed like she was blind for five months when she wasn't," I remind her.

Hannah rubs her head. "For purposes of my head not exploding can we just say that she is telling the truth?"

"Well that would mean we crossed her off the new A list," Spencer says, I can see her mentally crossing the name off too.

"And who's still on it?" I ask.

"Lucas?"

"No way," Hannah shoots down Emily. "He might be a little unhinged lately, but he's not capable of digging up a grave."

"Guys, all roads lead back to the Black Swan," Spencer says. "We know she was working with Mona, the sketches were in her lair.

"Spencer," Melissa interrupt us, asking for her mom if Spencer wanted anything. We all look Melissa up and down, noticing how good she looks for someone who was supposed to have lost her baby two months ago.

"Melissa is looking good," I comment.

"Yeah back to size two skinny," Hannah remarks, we notice her tone and give her a questioning look. "Black Swan skinny. I mean think about it, we know that she lied about when she lost her baby."

"Whoa back up," Spencer stops.

"Wait, you think she was pretending to be pregnant for five months?" I clarify, interrupting Spencer before she can defend her sister.

"No, there's no way. She wouldn't do that to my parents," Spencer sounds sure, but the rest of us aren't.

"Who else could it be?"

"Mona started talking again so maybe she can give us some answers," Hannah offers, taking a tiny crumb off the brownie plate. I look over at Spencer to ask her if Jason called her, when I see him walk into the Grille, his eyes on Mrs. Hastings. I jump out of my chair and hurry up to him, trying to stop him from making more rumors spread about him and driving a wedge between him and his other family.

"Jason, not here." I whisper, placing my hands on his chest and trying to push back, but he doesn't even look down at me and I can feel his fast heart rate under my hands. He takes my hands and moves around me.

"Did you really think you could avoid me forever?" Jason demands, Mrs. Hastings turning around, as does most of the room.

"Jason," I whisper, but he gently pushes me behind him and stands his ground, glaring at Mrs. Hastings. I glance at my friends and Spencer looks worried while the other girls interested, Spencer told them about Jason and her family over the summer.

"How could you defend Garrett?" Jason accuses.

"Let's not have this conversation here," Mrs. Hastings says, looking around the room and at her two daughters.

"Oh, it doesn't bother you that he _murdered_ my sister?" Jason snaps, getting in Mrs. Hastings face and using the tone of voice I recognize as his 'are you trying to insult me?' tone.

"Look, I understand you're upset but this isn't the place." Mrs. Hastings tries to motion towards me and her girls but Jason told me about all the calls he made to her and I knew he wasn't going to back down now.

"Just tell me why you're doing it."

"Everyone deserves a competent legal defense," Mrs. Hastings answers the same answer she gave to the press, which pisses Jason off and he aims low.

"You sure that's the only reason?" Jason asks, looking straight at Melissa with a sneer on his face. Melissa squirms under his gaze, which makes Jason smirk back at Mrs. Hastings.

"Let the process play out, Jason," Mrs. Hastings requests. "Focus on taking care of your family, and yourself." Jason smiles a humorless smile and nods.

"Don't worry. I am." Jason glares at Mrs. Hastings before turning and walking out of the Grille, both of us moving to take the other one's hand before he has even turned. The girls get out of their seats as I pass them and give them a look to follow, hurrying to keep up with Jason.

When we get outside he lets go of my hand and walks up to a post, still fuming. "Jason are you okay?" I whisper, watching him staple a sign to the post. He turns around and looks at me, his eyes dark and his jaw clenched.

"No," he turns and starts walking away as the door behind us opens again and the girls come out.. "But I will be."

"Is he okay?" Spencer asks, but I don't answer, walking up to the pole and looking at the sign.

It's the picture of Alison, the picture that is still everywhere in town, but instead of the large 'Missing' above the name it's a reward, $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of her remains. The girls examine the sign, and just as I'm about to run after Jason, all of our phones ring and buzz at the same time.

" _Imagine what I could do with fifty grand -A._ " I sigh, and shake my head, but still run after Jason, Spencer following me.

"I don't want to hear it, Aria." Jason says when I catch up to him and take his hand to stop him. "I know what I'm dong." He turns around to continue a one sided argument, but I get up on my tiptoes and kiss the words away.

When I pull away I place my hand on his face and look him in the eyes. "I want you to do whatever makes you feel better, Jason. I just don't want you throwing the money away to some stoner that doesn't have any real information."

"Maybe you should let the police handle this," Spencer says, I step away from Jason and take his hands again. I feel them clench at her words and realize Spencer and Jason may be very similar, but they don't know how to handle each other yet.

"Because they did such a great job handling Alison's case," Jason sarcastically remarks.

"You shouldn't have to field through a bunch of calls from crack pots," Spencer says, taking the comforting side instead of accusing.

"All I need is one person to tell me the truth."

"How will you know who is and who isn't?" I ask, he looks down at me and his expression softens.

"I can tell when someone is lying," I gulp as he looks back at his half sister. "Can you?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" Spencer snaps.

"Why do you think your mom took this case?" Jason asks.

"You told him?" Spencer yells at me, narrowing her eyes at me. Jason moves in front of me and towers over Spencer, but he is only a few inches taller than her and she holds her ground well. "She had no right to tell my families secrets to you."

"I'm sorry, Spencer," I step around Jason but he puts his arm out. I push him away and give him a look to back down. "You told me you cared about Jason and wanted a good relationship with him, well I already have one with him and I care for him as much as I do Hannah, Emily and you. If the positions were switched and Jason was Toby, you would have done the same thing. Don't lie." I attempt to hold my ground like Jason and Spencer can, glad Jason was there to back me up but also knowing that I will need my own strength to survive this new A.

Spencer stays quiet, too stubborn to admit I'm right so she turns and walks back to Hannah and Emily. "I'm sorry, I should have kept my anger in check," Jason whispers, cupping my face and kissing my eyes when he sees tears start to form.

"It's not only our faults, it's this damn town." I say angrily, wiping my eyes and refusing to cry.

"Come on, I'll drive you home," Jason takes my hand and we walk to his car.


	22. Chapter 22

"Have you gotten a lot of calls?" I ask Jason, laying my head on his table top and watching him clean up dinner.

"Tons." Jason answers, filling the dishwasher; our deal was if I cook he cleans and vice versa. "People will form a lot of crazy stories to try and get money."

"And you're still going to take every call?" Jason gives me a look as he dries his hands. "I'm not saying anything!" I defend, holding up my hands in retreat. "I just don't want these calls to cause you even more stress."

He smiles and pulls out a seat and holds my hand. "I know you don't, but it's really not stressing me out, I'm fine." He smiles to prove his point and leans over to give me a kiss. "I'm just looking for the answers I deserve."

"I know, I'm sorry." He shrugs it off and we stand to move into the living room when my phone rings.

"Who is it?"

"Hannah," I reply, wondering why she was calling me when she was suppose to be telling Caleb about the new A. "Hey, Hannah what's- whoa whoa what?" I stop in the doorway and try to figure out what Hannah is saying through the tears.

"Caleb's mom... car accident," Hannah was saying.

"Is she okay?" Jason watches me worriedly, and motions me to sit down but I shake my head as I try to make out what Hannah is saying.

"A did it! A... picture." A new, much stronger set of sobs are heard over the phone and I grab my jacket from the couch. A hurt Caleb's mother just because Hannah was thinking about telling him about the new A. "Caleb broke up with me!"

"I'll be right there," I say, covering the phone as she continues to cry and bend down to kiss Jason.

"Caleb broke up with Hannah," I whisper, he nods in understanding and walks me onto the porch.

"I'm going to see my parents in the morning," Jason says as I shut my door and he leans through my open window. "Call me later, okay?" I nod and kiss him.

* * *

3rd Person

Spencer was looking over results for April Rose on her laptop, waiting for Jason to show up. She had texted him to meet her there that morning after Toby left, knowing that Aria was going to be working at her new photography job all day and he was always free on weekends. He showed up on time, and knew to be cautious around his half sister, wanting a good relationship with her but also knowing that she was his girlfriend's best friend and he didn't want Aria to hear anything bad about Jason. It was still hard for Jason to believe Aria was willingly dating him, it felt like she was the only good thing going for him.

"Hey."

"Hey, Jason," Spencer turns off her Ipad and faces him.

"So what's up?"

"I need to talk to you about Garett, his case." Spencer jumps right in, neither of them knowing where they stand; the last time they had talk was on Jason's porch when he had lied to her about not giving anyone the money, she didn't know he lied and he didn't want anyone to know about the information he found out.

"Then you know about the evidence?" Jason clarifies, he wasn't sure how Spencer kept finding everything out, her parents weren't very open, but he didn't want her to go asking how he kept finding out either.

"Then it has been thrown out?"

"Not yet, but it will be."

"Look, I think I might have a way to make sure Garett's case doesn't fall apart, but I'm at a dead end and I think you can help me." Spencer admits, completely aware she never paid him back for the last favor she asked of him.

"What can I do?" Jason asks, a little suspicious of whatever his half sister was plotting.

Spencer sits up straighter and gets ready. "Do you know somebody named April Rose?" Jason thinks about it but slowly shakes his head. "So you've never heard of her?" Jason sits down next to Spencer, getting the feeling she was asking him for a reason.

"I haven't, most of my senior year and the years after were a blur to me until Ali went missing. But to be honest there were so many girls hanging around us at that time I could have met her and just not remember," Jason felt disgusted of himself for saying that allowed, he never wanted Aria to know what he got himself into because of his 'friends.'

"Us as in.." Spencer asks.

"Garett, Ian, and I." Jason answers, cringing inside. His two best friends, both suspects of his sister's case.

"The N.A.T. club," Spencer clarifies, nodding but not being able to get the disgust out of his voice.

"How do you know about that?" Jason asks, other questions running through his head but only one standing out the most.

"Do you think she could have been one of the girls you filmed?" Spencer accuses, narrowing her eyes.

"Whoa, I didn't film any of those videos," Jason defends.

"Yeah but you watched them!" Spencer gives Jason a disgusted look that he looks away from, leaning on his knees and looking at the street. "Didn't you?" Jason doesn't reply and Spencer shakes her head. "How'd you get that honor with out doing any of the grub work?"

Jason takes a breath, and lets it out slowly. "It was my idea," Jason says, feeling completely ashamed. Spencer gives a chuckle and leans away from him.

"Aria sure knows how to pick them," Spencer sarcastically remarks. Jason sits up and fixes Spencer with a death glare.

"No one thinks Aria is wrong for dating me more than I do, but don't act like you are any better. You asked me here."

"Could she have been in one of the videos?" Spencer asks, getting back on the topic and ignoring what he said.

"Possibly," Jason answers, crossing his arms and looking over the parking lot. "She could have also been one of their employees."

"What do you mean by that?" Spencer asks, pornography being her best guess.

"I think Ian and Garett were paying girls to set up their friends. I don't know, at that time I had kind of walked away from it all." Jason admits, it had been his idea, and the first few months he watched all of the videos, but by senior year the drugs had consumed so much of his life he didn't care what his friends were doing anymore, as long as they didn't get caught.

"So were you guys the only members?" Spencer asks, curiosity beating disgust.

"Officially, yeah. But Ian had help, there's no way he could have filmed it all on his own." Jason shakes his head, never having understood what exactly happened. "You know at times I thought, maybe he was even filming it for someone else." Jason checks his phone and sees a text from Aria asking to meet for lunch. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Okay," they both stand and Jason crosses his arms and looks at Spencer, his unasked questions on the tip of his tongue. "We found videos of us, an old yearbook, and Ian told us some of it."

"Us?" Jason catches, paling a little. "So she knows."

"Yeah, Aria knows," Spencer smiles a little when he sees how worried Jason is now. "She knew before you all started dating, Jason."

Jason furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head. "Why? Why would she even talk to me?" Spencer smiles wider and shrugs.

"That's just the way Aria is, she is the compassionate one. She feels things deeper than the rest of us, and I guess she is able to sympathize with what you went through enough to forgive you." Jason's phone rings and they both see Aria's picture pop up. "Before I knew everything I did about our dad, I did not think highly of you, but Aria was always quick to defend you. Whether you deserve her or not, she wants to be with you." Spencer turns and walks away as Jason picks up the phone.

"Hey, let's meet at the Plaza, I'm just around the corner," Jason smiles as Aria turns around the corner and sees him. "Hey!" She giggles. "That was fast, what are you doing here?"

"I met Spencer here." Jason says, looking at Aria and taking in her gorgeous face and breath taking smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aria asks, not able to read his gaze but feeling it directed solely on her. Jason walks up to her and cups her face, a small smile on his lips.

"I love you," he whispers, watching Aria's expression light up just before he kisses her. When he pulls away, he watches her bite down on her lip to try to contain the girlish giggle that escapes.

"I love you too." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again.


	23. Chapter 23

" _At Police station with Jason_ ," Spencer texts me, just as I'm driving home from work. I turn the car around and head to the police station. She didn't seem upset but it's hard to tell in text.

When I drive up behind Jason's parked car, Spencer is on the phone listening to a voicemail from Toby and Jason is walking out of the Police station. Spencer nods to me as I jog past her and ask Jason what's wrong, he explains about Spencer going to him about the April Rose mystery and both of them going to the city to go to the store -it was Jason's idea to turn the bracelet they found in to the police.

"How'd it go?" Spencer asks when we reach her and Jason has finished catching me up.

"As well as it could, I guess." Jason shrugs and takes my hand, smiling down at me and still having that look and his eye he had earlier just before he told me he loved me. It makes me blush and smile back. "I told them I got an anonymous tip," Jason looks back at Spencer. "They seemed to believe me." Yeah, because everyone in this town gets Anonymous tips.

"So do you know when they'll-" Spencer begins.

"Nah, he didn't say." Jason answers.  
"So what do we do now?" I ask, Jason looks at me and shrugs.

"Now we wait." I nod and am about to ask if they want to come have dinner at my house.

"Um, Jason?" Spencer asks nervously, I wait for her to ask another favor of Jason. Jason was willing to do anything to establish a good relationship with Spencer since his relationship with the rest of his family was so torn up, but a relationship needs a two way street. "Do you still have those letters?" She glances at me but I look back at Jason, we had talked about his mother and biological father a lot over the summer, but I he never showed me the letters. I thought he might have burned them.

"The ones between...?" Jason asks.

"The ones that helped you figure out that my dad is your dad too?" Spencer asks, and I can tell it's still a touchy subject for her. She always develops an expressionless mask when she doesn't want to seem weak.

"Spence," I say, frowning and wanting to help her. She hasn't come to me for comfort and Emily and Hannah are still warming up to Jason so she is going through this alone. Jason glances between us, not catching on right away.

"I'd like to see them," Spencer says, looking Jason in the eye. "Please."

"Oh, Spencer," Jason says sympathetically, shaking his head. "You don't want to do that. It'll.. it'll just hurt." I nod along with him, but Spencer chuckles.

"Spencer?" I question, wondering what's going through her head.

"Sorry," she says, chuckling again. "I was just thinking that the reason you don't want me to read them is the very reason Ali would. I just think it's funny how different you two are."

I smile up at Jason, having made several mental notes about the differences and similarities between him and Ali and him and Spencer. "I wonder if Ali would have stayed like that."

"I wonder what kind of person she would have turned into," Jason adds. "I see it with the kids I work with, you know? And at first they're all attitude, but if you peel back the layers, you usually find a real person underneath."

"Yeah, but with Ali, we just keep pealing," I say.

"And we always seem to find new layers." Spencer continues.

Jason nods in understanding, rubbing my arm when I shiver. "I have the letters, Spencer, but think about it some more. Make sure you're ready, okay?" Spencer nods, getting into my car as I hug Jason goodbye.

"Thank you, for helping her," I tell him, pecking him on the cheek. "I know it means a lot to her."

"Yeah, of course," Jason shrugs, unwrapping his arms from around my waist. "Spencer seemed to think someone put the bracelet there for us to find, I mean she never told me where she found the name April Rose, but I can tell she didn't stumble upon it while talking to her mom." Jason narrows his eyes. "Is there something I don't know? Maybe A related?"

Images of Hannah crying and Caleb's mom in a car accident flash in my mind, and I smile and shake my head. "No, of course not. Mona is at Radley, basically in a coma." Jason doesn't stop narrowing his eyes but he nods.

"Okay, good night."

"Night," I kiss him again and then walk to my car, looking around the parking lot. My phones buzzes when I get in the car, and I glance at Spencer.

" _Good doll._ " The text read, and I snap it shut angrily and drive Spencer home.


	24. Chapter 24

"Take it from me, you're always better off with a really good lie," We all hear behind us, making us freeze.

"Is it just me or did that sound a lot like-" Emily starts, we all turn around and stare at the blonde in the pink dress.

"Alison?" We all say, and the girl turns around. She was beautiful, just as gorgeous as Ali. But not Ali.

"Excuse me?" She asks in the same mean girl tone as Ali.

"Oh, no, sorry. Wow, you just sound a lot like one of our friends." I say, Spencer, Emily and I walking up to her.

"Hope she's brilliant," the woman says. "What's her name?"

"Alison Dilaurentis," I say, watching her expression as a look of recognition crosses her features.

She looks at all of us, not exactly sizing us up but looking like she was putting a face to a memory. "You were friends of Ali's." She states. "Me too, I'm Cece." She states it like we're suppose to have known her, but we know more of Alison's friends now then she ever told us when she was alive.

"Spencer," Spencer says when Cece looks at her.

"Melissa Hastings little sister," Cece says, almost in shock but also in slight mockery. "Ali talked about you, she talked about all of you." Ali must have only told other's about us as a group because Cece didn't ask for the rest of our names. "A lot."

"How do you know Ali?" Emily asks, always the one to be defensive of Ali.

"Before I moved to L.A. our families rented summer homes in Cape May, we went through an intense couple of weeks together. I dated her brother, Jason." Spencer glances at me but Emily keeps it cool. "She never mentioned me to you guys?"

"No," we all say.

"Well, it was intense for me." Cece looks right at me as she explains, and I try not to compare myself to her. "She was going through such a rough time, like a broken doll." I narrow my eyes at the analogy.

"So why did you move back to Rosewood?" Spencer asks, smiling and chuckling a little so it didn't feel like an interrogation.

"Listen, I hate to make tracks, but I'm already late and my new boss is high strung and really sober." Cece says, tilting her head and keeping one hand up as she speaks. "Come visit me at the new boutique across the street." She looks at me and smirks. "And if you're looking for a bit of free shopping, I'll be happy to turn the other way."

"I think you're thinking of Hannah, she's not here right now. I'm Aria." I clarify, putting on a fake smile but trying to look for any signs of her knowing about our similar interest.

"Okay," She shrugs and smiles, then leaves.

"That was weird," Spencer says.

"She was just like Ali." Emily says.

"Or Ali was just like her. I mean one hip out, the head tilt?"

"Looking straight through you, like she knew all your secrets?" Emily adds.

I nod along with what they say, and bite my lip. "Did she say she dated Jason?" Emily and Spencer give me a look. "What?"

* * *

"Hey will you be at the basketball courts this afternoon?" I ask Jason, noticing his gym bag on his shoulder as he leans next to my locker.

"No," he snaps, making me raise my eyebrows.

"That sucks, I wanted to watch," I say, kissing his cheek then pulling away. "why not?"

"I figured less people would get hurt if I ran," he answers bitterly, scowling and making a fist.

"So you heard?" I ask, taking his fisted hand and smoothing it out. "I'm sorry."

"It's not yours or Spencer's fault. I tried to be the hero again and now I'm the screw up again." I raise my hand to his face and make him look at me.

"You are not a screw up, okay? That was an important piece of evidence that you found, we could find out who Ali's killer was from that bracelet."

"Her killer was Garett!" Jason snaps, pulling away from me. I felt a little bit of deja-vu going on and I think Jason felt it to. "It has to be, Aria. I can't deal with having to go through this again and again."

I sigh and wrap my arms around his torso. "I know."

"I have to pick up my dad at the airport this afternoon." I groan at the bad timing and look up at Jason. He shakes his head and I have no words to make him feel better so I just hug him again.

"I gotta go," he says when the bell rings. "I'll text you later okay?" I nod and step out of the hug.

"I love you, okay?" I remind him, pulling on his shirt to make him bend down and kiss me.

"I'll forever be grateful for that," he says, before kissing me. I watch him walk away, knowing he is going through a lot and wanting to help him. But I'm a senior girl and need reassurance.

"Jason!" I shout after him, closing my locker door and jogging after him. He turns around and scrunches his eyebrows together. "I ran into Cece Drake this morning at the Brew," I state, biting my lip as he straightens back up and nods in understanding.

"I heard she was back," Jason admits.

"Yeah," I roll on my feet and look around the hall. "She mentioned she had an insane summer with you and Ali."

"Everything with Cece is insane," Jason says it like it's a bad thing. He watches me for a moment as I continue to gnaw on my lip. "What's wrong, Aria?"

"She said she dated you," I spit out.

Jason nods, finally figuring it out, and he chuckles. "She broke up with me the day after Ali's body was found. We dated for a year and it most of it was hell."

"That's terrible!" I exclaim, talking about breaking up with someone right after they found out their younger sister was dead. Jason chuckles and kisses me.

"That's why I love you and you don't need to worry, Aria. Cece was like Ali, they only care about themselves, while you care about everyone." I give a small smile.

"I love you too," I tell him. He kisses me one more time, then walked towards the office while I walked towards my mom's room to give her the bills for her that were brought in the mail.


	25. Chapter 25

"Emily went to Radley today to get some time away from Nate talking about Jenna," I tell Spencer as we drive back from the Brew. Behind us I can hear the sound of tires squealing.

"Nate has no idea what he is getting himself into," Spencer says just as a familiar red car drives past us. "Jason?" She asks, behind able to see the driver better than me.

"Wh- JASON!" I scream as I watch the car run into a light post. I unbuckle and open the door, hitting the ground running as Spencer stops the car. I run to his car, throwing the door open. "Jason are you okay?" I ask, his eyes are open, but their hazy and his head rolls over to look at me. It doesn't seem like he sees me, or registers who I am as he reaches for the door to close it.

"Are you drunk?" Spencer asks. Jason tries to glare at her but it doesn't work.

"Jason, are you okay?" I ask trying to get him to look at me.

"Aria, the police will be here soon."

"Good, maybe they'll lock me up with Garett," Jason snickers, a part of me is relieved he can speak and still has memory now that I can see blood appearing at his hairline.

"Jason move over," I order. He continues to try to close the door so I push him myself. "Spencer, follow us back to my house." She nods and helps me push Jason over to the passenger seat then runs back to her car as I put the car in reverse and drive away from the scene. "Damnit Jason." I mutter, not looking back at him as I speed to my house.

My dad was out for the night with Meredith and my mom is staying at an apartment, so the only one that is home is Mike. He comes out of the house when he sees two cars pull into the driveway. "What's going on?" He asks when I get out of a wrecked Dilaurentis rental car.

"Mike, help me get Jason inside." I order, walking around the side of the car and opening the door just in time for Jason to bend over and throw up on the drive way. "Actually, Spencer and I got him, I need you to get the hose and then drive this car to Emily's." I turn to my little brother and see he is a little frightened but mainly whiplashed. "Hurry!"

Mike runs around the house as Spencer and I put Jason's arms around our shoulders and struggle to get him inside. He groans when Spencer accidentally hits his hand on the doorway, but I don't reprimand her, beyond pissed that he would put himself in a situation that could get him hurt. We let him fall on top of my bed after five minutes of dragging him upstairs.

"Spencer, there is a first aid kid in the bathroom, will you go grab it? It's behind the mirror." She nods and leave the room.

Jason sits up and leans against the wall. "Go ahead, yell." Jason sneers at me. "Are you gonna get your little posy together to share the details of me getting drunk?" I step back a little, not use to Jason speaking to me like this, memories of him drunk and yelling at Ali coming back. "The four of you are perfect pons of Ali's, always getting everyone around you in trouble but keeping yourselves safe." I just stare at Jason as he looks at me in disgust when Spencer comes back in. She glances between Jason and I, but hands me the kit without asking questions. I climb up on the bed and try to clean up the wound on his head but he moves away from me. "Get away, your teacher might have let you baby him but I'm a real man."

"Jason!" Spencer gasps at Jason's harsh words, but I give Jason a stern look which he replies with a death glare.

"Either let me fix your wound or I'll drive you home and let your father deal with you," I snap. Jason continues to glare at me but when I start to wipe the blood away he doesn't lean away.

"Why were you drinking, Jason?" Spencer asks, Jason moves his eyes to her and fixes her with a glare also.

"Are you stupid?" Jason sneers.

"Because your dad is back?"

"No that's too small," I shoot down the idea. "It would have to be a mixture of big things. Like his dad saying something bad and the Garett thing coming up."

Jason pushes me away and stands up, using the wall to support himself. I fall on the floor, the rug cushioning my fall a little. "What do you know?" Jason asks, his words no longer slurring.

"I know that my Jason wouldn't drink unless someone provided the beers and you were angrier than you were when you found out someone stole Alison's body."

"Your Jason?" Jason sneers, looking me up and down as I stand up and cross my arms.

"Spencer, sober him up please, I'm going to check on Mike." I walk out of the room and turn the corner towards the stairs, but lean against the wall and take a deep breath. I can her Spencer and Jason yelling at each other in my room, but when I see Mike run in the room and up the stairs that becomes background noise.

"Dad's home," Mike tells me, he takes in my state and is about to ask what's wrong but I turn around and walk back into the room.

"You need to go."

"Aw, did I make you upset?" Jason sneers, looking at Mike and I. "Oh, Mike."

"Mike go to your room." I order, not needing my brother to hear how mean his counselor could get when he was under the influence.

"Why?"

"Now. Mike." Spencer looks between the three of us, then grabs Mike's shoulder and pushes him out of the room.

"Careful, Aria, you might start sounding like Ali if you keep ordering people around."

"You're going to climb out the window and wait for Spencer to drive you home," I tell him.

"I'm not going to be ordered around by a little girl."

"This little girl is about to push you out a window if you don't listen!" I scream at Jason, done with being scared of his drunk self. Jason seems surprised that I'm yelling at him, but covers it up with a glare and stumbles to the window. I open it for him and show him where to grab the tree, Mike and I having worn down the tree in the spots that you climb down on. "Don't call me when you sober up."

"I won't," Jason barks, grabbing the tree and leaving without saying goodbye. When Spencer comes back in the room she asks if I'm okay, but I ignore the question and tell her what I told Jason, but tell her to go out the front door so my dad sees her.

"Are you going to be alright?" Spencer asks as we walk downstairs.

"Fine." I answer. "I got a text from Hannah, we're both going to your house. We're driving separately."


	26. Chapter 26

When I woke up the next morning at Spencer's I had twenty text messages from Jason and ten missed calls. The girls, especially Spencer, asked if I was going to break up with Jason, but I didn't know what I was going to do, it's hard to hear the person you love talk to you like you're a rat. Being drunk changes how you act, not how you think.

"Hello?" I turn around at Spencer's voice, her dad had just come up to tell us he was making breakfast, Spencer was staring at me when I turned around to look at her. "Yeah, she's here." I widen my eyes and shake my head. "No... I don't know."

"Spencer." I warn her. She looks guilty but she isn't hanging up the phone. I shake my head and grab my jacket and bag from next to Hannah. "I'll see you later."

"Aria, wait," Spencer says, but I'm already down the stairs and saying goodbye to her father. When the girls chase after me I go out the front door, but before I can reach my car Jason comes running out of the bushes towards me. The girls run out of the front door, Spencer and Jason's dad behind them.

"God, just leave me alone!" I shout at all of them, trying to get past Jason.

"Aria, please talk to me," He says, grabbing my arm as I walk past him.

"No."

"Aria he wasn't thinking straight," Spencer calls.

"Straight enough to know where to hit," I recall, not looking at Jason because I know the moment I do my resolve will crumple. "I need to go home."

"Aria, please. I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," Jason pleads, taking my hands and trying to get me to look at him.

"Obviously."

"I didn't mean any of it, I was drunk."

"Jason," Spencer's dad says disapprovingly. "You're drinking again?" He makes it sound like he cares. Jason's hand twitches when he hears but he ignores him.

"Aria, please. I need you to look at me, please. I love you," He shakes me gently and his tone makes its sound like he is on the verge of tears but I bite my lip and look at the ground.

"Jason, I think you should go back home and let Aria go. We don't need to do this in the middle of the street." Spencer's dad was walking towards us as he spoke.

"Why don't you keep out of my business for once?" Jason yells at Mr. Hastings, before bending down. I close my eyes when he tries to meet them. "Please, Aria. I love you, I wasn't thinking. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me and last night it wasn't me talking, it was someone else because I would never hurt you. I'm so sorry. I _love_ you." Jason continues to plead with me, reminding me over and over of his love for me.

"You need to leave Aria alone and go home to talk to your father about whatever happened last night." I open my eyes at Mr. Hastings words and see Jason flinch from his words. Jason was shaking, from distress and anger from the way his biological father was treating him. I whip around and stare down Mr. Hastings, making him take a step back at my sudden movement, behind him Spencer was watching with wide eyes and Hannah and Emily were trying to decide if they should comfort Spencer or me. "Aria, I think you should go home and let the adults handle whatever is going on with Jason."

"You wanna know what's going on with Jason?" I bark out. "His father isn't his father and his actual father is living next door to him, refusing to acknowledge his presence unless it is an inconvenience to his reputation! I think you should either let Jason live his life or make amends for the mess YOU made but don't want to clean up!" I accuse of Mr. Hastings, never having talked to an adult like this, but completely fed up with the trauma he has caused my friends and boyfriend. I turn around and push past Jason, getting in my car and pulling out of the driveway, heading towards my house, before I turn out of the neighborhood and drive to the park to get some fresh air.

After a few minutes of driving, I see Jason in my rearview mirror, tailgating me. I pull over in front of the Brew and get out, walking inside and ordering frappuccino and coffee. Jason walks in as the man hands them to me, so I turn around and hand him the coffee, stopping him from speaking.

"Thanks," He says, surprised and unsure. I walk over to the couches and sit down, staring into my drink as I take a sip and then move the whip cream around so it's mixed into the drink and not at the top. "Aria?" I glance up but glance back down when I get a glimpse of his state. His hair was a mess and their were bags under his eyes, if I had looked a little longer I would have noticed his eyes were blood shot also and his hands were shaking from nerves and anger aimed at himself. "I'm sorry." Jason sits across from me but I don't look up, I only stare at his shoes. "I'm not the same person when I'm drunk. When I drink it's like I'm Hyde and sober I'm Dr. Jekyll, but I know that's not an excuse because I shouldn't have been drinking last night. And I have no excuse for the way I treated you after you saved me from having to talk to the police." Jason stops talking and I can feel him staring at me. "You have to know I didn't mean any of the things I said, Aria. I love you and would never consciously hurt you."

"I know," I whisper, playing with my straw.

"You do?" I nod. "I'm sorry Aria, you were never suppose to see me like that, not last night or the rest of your life."

"Why were you drinking?"

"My father found out about you and I, and about Spencer and I, and Cece tried to call me, and Spencer kept texting me asking if I was okay. I know it's not an excuse, but I wanted a get away. I was just going to go running but when I went into my room there was a beer on my desk, just one. So I drank it, and then while I was drinking that I found one by my pillow, and then I just kept drinking and finding more around my room. I think I drank a whole pack before I got a text from a blocked number telling me to meet them at the police station to tell me where Alison's body is."

"Someone wanted you to drink and drive." I sum up, finally looking up at him.

"I don't know, I guess, but I should have been strong enough not to." I agree, but don't say anything, just look back at the ground. Jason moves from the arm chair to sit next to me and takes my hand. "I love you, Aria. You are the most selfless, compassionate, forgiving, and all around amazing person I know, and I have done nothing in my life to deserve your love, even if it was only for a moment. I will spend-"

"I never said I didn't love you anymore," I say defensively, snapping my head up. Hope crosses Jason's features when I say this, but whatever he sees in my eyes diminishes that hope. "That's what makes last night so hard. I had to hear the man I love say those things to me."

"I didn't mean them, Aria," Jason squeezes my hand and looks at me pleadingly. "No one thinks you are more amazing than I do, and no one hates me more than I do for what I said to you and treated you. I could never make up to you for what I did but I will try even if you leave me."

I shake my head and speak before I've even finished my thoughts. "I'm not breaking up with you, Jason."  
"You're not?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"You aren't forgiven," I make sure he understands.

"I wouldn't want to be." He smiles and his shoulders relax. "Can I drive you to school?"

"My car is here," I remind him but he only shrugs.

"I'll drive you here after school." I give a small chuckle which makes him smile even more. "How was I lucky enough to have you love me?" Jason asks.

I shrug and shake my head while I stand up. "I've learned not to question why things happen, the answer is never clear or good enough."


	27. Chapter 27

**Last Chapter**

* * *

Jason had spent most of the day trying to keep me smiling and make up for the way he acted last night, he did this by walking me to all of my classes, bringing me lunch from the Grille, carrying my bags for me, and sitting with my friends and I for lunch. It was lunch that meant the most to me, and he knew it too. He made a show of talking to all of my friends, asking how Emily is doing, asking if Spencer got yelled at by her dad, and assuring Hannah his dad didn't actually think she stole Ali's body.

"There have been more people than just you calling my mother to tell her they've seen Ali, my dad only holds a grudge for you because you were her friend and it was so close before we found her body," Jason assured Hanna, who was grateful to hear that.

After school I hung out in my mom's classroom until he was done mentoring, then he drove me to the Brew to pick up my car. We threw around ideas for what we could do for dinner but never settled on anything until we reached the Brew. Instead of just picking my car up and driving home, we went inside to sit down and talk for a while, trying to get some more alone but public time -it didn't work.

"Jason?" We walked right in as Cece was paying for a latte. She smiled a big, flirtatious, and Alison type smile at him, her eyes running down his arm to raise an eyebrow at our entwined hands, still plastering on that perfect smile. "Hi Aria," Cece says looking at me and trying to evoke fear or jealousy out of me while still appearing as a princess, but she couldn't see Jason's thumb rubbing circles on my hand to protect me from those feelings.

"Hey," I say with a smile, continuing to walk into the door and go up to the counter.

"I didn't realize when Emily told me Jason wasn't single she meant you, that's adorable." If she had said sweet or possibly cute, it wouldn't have seemed demeaning, but adorable? "How long have you been dating?"

"Six months," Jason answers immediately, surprising me that he knew without having to think about it.

His quick answer makes Cece hesitate, but she sips her latte to cover it up and smiles. "That's nice. Well, I have to be off, I don't want to be late for my job. See you around, Jason. Bye Aria." She nods to both of us and then leaves the Brew.

I lost my appetite so I walk over to the couches to sit down, Jason following me. "She's such a bitch."

"She's an older Ali." I shake my head and lean against Jason's shoulder.

"I don't know why I dated her, or how it lasted a year."

"I don't know how someone could break up with you right after you found out Ali was dead," I shake my head in disgust and Jason chuckles. "So what are we doing for dinner?" Jason opens his mouth, about to speak when his phone starts ringing. Instead of the regular ringtone, it's the Jaw's ringtone. I raise my eyebrows, amused, as he answers.

"Dad." Jason answers the phone, and I cover my mouth to muffle the chuckles as Jason pushes me against the couch to shut up, but he didn't seem upset at me laughing at him. "I wasn't planning to be home for- I actually do- You haven't lived there in two years! I have plans with Aria - What?" I try to follow the conversation, rubbing Jason's shoulder when he gets upset. "Do you want to have dinner with my father?" He asks me, my eyes widen.

"Um, yeah sure," I say as Jason shakes his head.

"She said no," I hear his dad yell that he heard me and then hang up. "Shit." Jason mutters, leaning back against the couch and running a hand through his hair. "Always say you have plans, Aria."

"Sorry," I say, moving into his side and placing my head next to him. "Isn't it good that he wants to have dinner with me?"  
"No, a dinner with my father is never good." Jason shakes his head and leans on me, kissing the side of my head. "I need a place of my own."

"Is he going to stay for a while?"

"No, he probably just needed a break from my mom. He'll leave once they figure out Garett." I nod then sit up a little.

"We might as well head over there now." Jason groans but stands up too, grabbing my hand while we walk out of the brew to our cars. He drives with me to my house, playing video games with Mike to pass the time while he waits for me to freshen up and get changed, once I was done we said bye to my parents and head over to his parent's house in his car. I was wearing a white dress with an aztec black design on it that made it look just black and white stripes but not as boring but not too busy, along with a black shaw and black high heels, when I walked into Mike's room Jason stood up immediately and spun me around, kissing my cheek and telling me I was beautiful while Mike made gagging noises.

"Thanks Mike," I stick my tongue out at me and he laughs, pausing his game and getting up off the floor to look at me.

"Real mature." He walks past Jason and I and we follow him down the stairs. "So, meeting the parents tonight?"

"Just the one."

"Nervous?" I chuckle and look at Jason, taking his hand and smiling at his tight jaw and jumpy posture.

"Not as nervous as Jason." Mike glances back and starts laughing, making Jason ease up slightly and laugh too. "Are you alright for dinner? Is there leftovers?"

"Yeah," Mike opens the door for us and nods to Jason. "Home by ten you two!" He jokes, clapping Jason on the shoulder and closing the door behind us.

"Did he seem eager to get us out of the house to you?" I muse as Jason opens the door for me, he only shrugs as he gets in the car and pulls out.

It's only a five minute drive to the other side of the neighborhood where Spencer and Jason lived, but with the radio off and Jason's extensive drumming of his fingers it felt longer. I tried to ease his nerves as we parked in the garage, but he was closing himself off already and refused to see this dinner as a good thing. It was hard to stay calm myself with the way he was acting, but I had spent time with Ali's dad before and he never seemed like a bad guy, he never acted in a way to warrant this kind of behavior from Jason.

Jason opened the back door for me and let me walk in first. His father was setting the kitchen table for three, placing three glasses of water at each spot and not looking up when we come in. I move out of the way so Jason can come in, but he stays in the doorway, teetering between in and out and ready to leave if he feels like it.

"Thank you for having me over for dinner, Mr. Dilaurentis," I say cautiously, looking around the kitchen to see if there is anything I can do to help. He made pasta and garlic bread, and had red wine in the sink but I was guessing that was for him, and for later.

"Your welcome, Aria. I heard from my neighbors and friends in town they had seen you together with Jason more often recently, I figured since Jason wasn't up to talk about it I'd have you over." Mr. Dilaurentis. I smile but don't know what to say in reply, Jason still hadn't closed the door. I glance around the kitchen again and offer my help in setting the table. "That's very kind, but please take a seat." He motions towards a seat at the table and pulls it out for me, I glance at Jason as I sit down. When our eyes meet he seems to make a decision and he closes the door behind him, walking in and helping his father move the bread and pasta from the kitchen to the table without a word.

Unlike dinners at my house, Jason doesn't speak up as he prepares his meal and he keeps his glare set on his plate to avoid looking at his father. His father keeps up a polite conversation with me, asking about my year away from Rosewood and school, just like his son, he pretends Jason isn't in the room, they both make it feel as though I'm having dinner with them while we wait for Alison to come downstairs. When Mr. Dilaurentis has exhausted all of the pleasantries and I've asked all I could about his life, the room fills with silence aside from the scraping of utensils on the plates.

Finally, I nudge Jason with my toe under the table and he glances up to meet my gaze. I motion with my eyes towards his father, but he scowls and looks back down. Trying one more time, I kick him with my foot, causing him to sigh and drop his fork.

"How long are you staying, Dad?" Jason rudely asks, I resist the urge to rub my face at his behavior. That was not what I had been asking him to do.

"A few more days, I would wait to see what the Police find out with this new evidence but they are hopeless so there doesn't seem to be a reason to stay longer than needed for the business." Mr. Dilaurentis says without looking up from his plate, taking another bite of pasta.

Jason looks at me and rolls his eyes, telling me that was the reason he hadn't been trying. I can see, past his teasing expression, that his father's admission that Jason wasn't worth staying for had been another blow. After what happened this morning with Mr. Hastings, I reeled in my anger and turned to Mr. Dilaurentis calmly.

"You should stay and see the work Jason is doing at the high school, he's really amazing with his students and my mom says that all of the teachers are seeing a lot of improvement in them." I inform Mr. Dilaurentis, watching Jason out of the corner of my eye beam at the praise. His father glances up and sees the both of us looking at him expectantly.

He places his fork into his empty bowl and stands up from the table. "I didn't realize Jason had taken up a teaching position." He drawls, walking into the kitchen as he speaks.

"I didn't." Jason mumbles, too low for his father to hear him, but when Mr. Dilaurentis walks back in I speak up again.

"Actually, Jason mentors the students that are abusing drugs or alcohol in school that need a way out."

"I didn't know that." Jason's dad replies, looking at Jason directly for the first time. "How often do you meet with them, Jason?"

"Twice a week and they all have my number if they need an emergency meeting." Jason replies, sitting up straighter in his seat, dropping his own fork in his empty bowl.

"And you influence them?"

"I tell them my stories from high school and my regrets, I mainly tell them how it felt when I was finally clean and the need to do it no longer controlled my life." Jason explains, glancing at me and completely beaming.

"Aren't you afraid that they will influence you?" Mr. Dilaurentis asks, crossing his arms and leaning back, fixing Jason with a stare.

I watch as Jason deflates at the question. "No, I'm making a lot of progress with the kids and it's not like any of them are allowed to bring their drugs or alcohol to the sessions."

"I don't think you should continue with that, you've worked to hard to just throw it away in order to see Aria more at her school. You can work at the business and be well off with that." He stands up from the table and takes my plate and Jason's with him to the kitchen, but Jason gets out of his chair and follows.

"That's not why I'm doing this, Dad." He all but shouts, I hurry after him and stop in the doorway to see his dad glaring back at Jason while Jason stands in the middle of the kitchen with his hands in tight fists. "I'm doing it to help these kids, to make sure they don't get in as deep as I was."

"And how easy is it for you to go back to that place, Jason? Just one offer and bam you're back to the boy laying on that couch watching his little sister walk by going god knows where to meet god knows who!" Mr. Dilaurentis finally shouts, causing me to gasp and Jason to take a step towards him.

"Get out." Jason whispered dangerously. "Go to your apartment, finish your business, and get out of Rosewood. We all know you aren't my father, so lets stop pretending we mean anything to each other."

Mr. Dilaurentis chuckles and grabs the bottle of wine out of the sink, handing it to Jason. "Have fun." he drawls, before walking out the back door and slamming it, making me jump at the noise.

Jason continues to stand in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the red wine in his hands and shaking from his anger. Carefully, I walk towards him, taking cautious steps until I'm in front of him and I catch his gaze. The pain and anguish in his eyes betrays his scowling face, and when he sees me in front of him, unwavering and offering a small smile, he places the wine down and grabs me to him. He buries his head in my hair and neck and takes several deep breaths to calm down. I rub circles along his back, whispering comforting words as he his shakings decrease and he pulls away.

"I'm so sorry, Jason. I should have stayed quiet, or said no to coming to dinner, or something." I confess.

"Don't be sorry, he's gone now and one way or another we would have ended up at each other's throats while he was staying here. He has an apartment downtown that he keeps but he decided to stay here this visit since he found out about Spencer and I." He moves and pours the wine down the sink. "Lets keep dinners at your house until he leaves next week, alright?"


End file.
